Program overview
Are the water sources at Killalea State Park at threat of scarcity or poor management?
Using mapping skills students locate significant sources of water in the park and they conduct biodiversity and water quality testing in the freshwater lagoon and ocean rock pools.
Students travel around the park observing features still present from the area’s natural past when the local Dharawal people inhabited the area, to when the area was heavily modified for farming and in its present state as a conservation and recreation area. The information gained throughout the day will lead students to decide what effect humans are having on the water sources at Killalea and worldwide.
Learning experiences
Mapping and field sketch
Students observe an aerial Photo of Killalea and draw a field sketch -to identify the significant water sources. Students observe and discuss the processes that have formed, eg. run-off, saltwater infiltration). Description of the different ways water in Killalea was and is used by people (commercial/agricultural/industrial and recreational).
Water quality Investigations
Lagoon – abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates / chemical and physical analysis.
Ocean - abundance and diversity of rock platform species/ chemical and physical analysis.
Beach clean up
A hands-on activity and discussion about the different ways people value water.
Discussion
Overall assessment of the effectiveness of water management at Killalea and its threat of scarcity.
Key syllabus outcomes
Geography K-10
S4 - Water in the World
- GE4-1 locates and describes the diverse features and characteristics of a range of places and environments
- GE4-2 describes processes and influences that form and transform places and environments
- GE4-3 explains how interactions and connections between people, places and environments result in change
- GE4-5 discusses management of places and environments for their sustainability
- GE4-7 acquires and processes geographical information by selecting and using geographical tools for inquiry
