On Tuesday 17 May, the Year 12 Geography ATAR students went to the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary, at Riverside Gardens in the City of Bayswater, to undertake fieldwork on land cover change, climate change and the restoration of a local environment.

During the fieldwork, students carried out site surveys of the Swan River, its banks and the bird sanctuary, looking out for wildlife, plants and the impacts of human activities on the land.

They then went into the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary to discover the ways the Sanctuary has been restored to benefit the environment and the Swan River. For example, the entire Bird Sanctuary is a nutrient stripping wetland so there will be less eutrophication in the Swan River. They then learnt about the different management strategies the City of Bayswater has put into place that have helped the environment and improved the quality of storm water entering the Swan River. The Year 12s discovered how to carry out water testing for nutrients, temperature, and turbidity, all of which are vital in monitoring the climate and predicting future changes.

The Geography class enjoyed their excursion and learnt a lot from this new experience.

Mrs Laura Billington
Humanities Teacher