On Tuesday 17 April, Ms Amy Lee, Mr Ben Cooper, and the Year 10 Geography class headed down to Torquay on the Great Ocean Road for our fieldwork excursion. We aimed to investigate the impacts of climate change, and explore how Torquay manages its coastline in the face of increasing erosion and rising sea levels. This complemented our in-class learning about Environmental Change.
We started by visiting Torquay Front Beach and Cosy Corner. Students carried out activities like beach quality assessments, field sketches, and environmental bipolar analyses to help them explore the issues that this coastline faces. We also took lots of photographs and talked about the management strategies we could see.
After walking along this beach area, we ascended to the dramatically-named ‘Point Danger’, where we were able to see erosion along the extended coastline, and discussed the impacts of the visible waves.
After plenty of time in the beautiful outdoors, we headed to the centre of Torquay to conduct further fieldwork, such as surveying locals, vehicle and traffic sampling, and facility transects. Students then had their lunch break, with the opportunity to try some local cafes and explore the main streets.
Finally, we headed to Bells Beach, our last stop of the day. Unfortunately, the rain arrived, and after a brief look at the rugged cliffs, we got back into the warmth of the bus and returned to SASC. Many thanks to everyone who made this day possible, especially Mr Cooper for his excellent bus driving!
Ms Amy Lee – Learning Specialist – Formative Assessment and Feedback | English & Humanities Teacher
