Year 11 Geography Field trip to Botany Bay and Kurnell

Botany Bay Photo 1

On Friday the 26th of February Year 11 Geography students accompanied by Ms Smith and Mr Johnson departed on the school bus for their peak hour crawl across Sydney to the container port at Botany Bay.

Access to a short stretch of bus lane on the M2 gave us some extra time and everyone enjoyed passing all the cars stopped on the M2. We viewed the Orica site and discussed the environmental damage that has arisen from the breaching of the plastic cell that holds highly contaminated waste beneath the site. Our arrival at the container terminal coincided with a strong southerly change and gale force winds. The container terminal has been expanded to accommodate the demand for trade in and out of Sydney. We were able to gain access to one site in order to observe all the impacts on the local environment including the dredging operations.

After recording information for our field notes and taking many photos we moved on to Brighton-le-Sands to take field measurements of the beach and examine human impacts on the coastal system. Once again this was challenging with strong winds and students attempting to take a range of measurements. The group was looking at the impact of TC Winston as the waves built in height and frequency. Our next two stops allowed us to observe the impact of sand mining on the Kurnell peninsula. Mining has been so extensive that the peninsula is now at risk of becoming an island again. Large lakes up to 8 metres deep can now be found where the enormous sand dunes once stood. We explored a new suburb that is being built on a section of the mined dunes. Awareness of the fragility of the peninsula raised interesting questions about the sustainability of such a development.

Botany Bay Photo 2

We continued on our way to stop at the Caltex Oil Refinery and the desalination plant. There was much discussion regarding the impacts on the local environment and the sheer size of the desalination project. The recent tornado had caused extensive damage to the desalination plant and to the Caltex site. Fallen trees, broken windows, damaged structures and power lines attested to the strength of this small tornado.

Mr Johnson drove us through the back entrance of Botany Bay National Park over nine speed humps until we reached the fantastic sandstone cliffs. The group followed the usual tradition and climbed down towards the rock pools and high tide platform. Ms Smith took a class photo as evidence! Our final stop was at Silver Beach to examine the rock groynes along the beach, the Caltex pipeline that extends into bay and the intake pipes for the desalination plant. Once again we were able to view the erosion due to recent storm activity.

We completed seven stops around the bay and finish off with lunch at McDonalds. Everyone in the group made a fantastic contribution to the day, taking measurements, getting wet feet, recording observations, taking photos and asking insightful questions. We usually only go out on days experiencing a weather anomaly and this fieldwork was no exception. What an amazing part of Sydney and we learned so much about a coastal region and how people can change it and often not for the best. We are looking forward to our next fieldwork trip!

Ms Karen Smith and the 2016 Year 11 Geography class

Written By

St Andrew's College Marayong
www.standrewscmarayong.catholic.edu.au

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