Overview
Where could you undertake fieldwork on flood mitigation strategies, impacts of flood and/or runoff? Local fieldwork There are lots of opportunities to undertake fieldwork at local creeks and rivers. This can be a great opportunity to undertake some small and regular fieldwork close to school grounds, that can be led by the classroom teacher, rather than relying on a full-day fieldwork excursion. This makes it cost effective, relatively easy to organise and engages students in fieldwork on a regular basis. Multi-day Field trip If you are interested in a multi-day field trip to explore flooding in Northern NSW, you may choose to do a trip that follows the river system and incorporates stops at Lismore, Wardell, Woodburn, Coraki, etc. Fieldwork activities Examples of field work activities that could be carried out with a class include: - An examination of runoff in a variety of locations along a river or creek to determine the differences in water quality (turbidity, ammonia, pH, etc) at the different sites, and explore the factors influencing the different sites (e.g. near a storm water drain, near an area with an abundance of vegetation). - A comparison off quality/quantity of run off on impervious surfaces, grass, dense vegetated sites. - Students can compare the field site in person with aerial photographs and maps - identify tributaries, drainage patterns, stormwater outlets, land use that may impact on runoff, infiltration etc. - Students can identify low lying areas at risk of flooding using both observation, flood risk maps and topographic maps - Are there any flood mitigation strategies in place? How is the land used? - students can annotate a map of the local area:
The class should examine local weather conditions, synoptic charts and weather forecasts in the lead up to activities to determine the impact of weather on the day's fieldwork results.
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One of our previous blog posts, Venice Case Study - introduced the use of Venice as a case study for the People, Patterns and Processes topic. It's always exciting to use a range of international case studies to engage students in their learning, but it can be hard to determine how to integrate hands on fieldwork. You always have the option of using virtual experiences, but one of the great things about our subject is being able to get students outside to engage in their learning.
Venice's canal system is one of the most unique of its features. Classes could undertake fieldwork at a canal development. In Sydney Sylvania Waters is a great example of a canal development where fieldwork could be undertaken. Outside of Sydney, there are canal developments in locations such as Ballina, Tweed Heads, Currumbin, Forster, Tweed Heads, Yamba, and St Huberts Island. If you were already doing a field trip to Queensland, you may be able to integrate canal fieldwork on the Gold Coast or Paradise Point, but it wouldn't be worth your time doing this as a stand alone activity. The types of activities you could undertake include:
The second main topic in the new NSW Geography syllabus is People, Patterns and Processes. The Overview of the diversity and extent of human activity, and the Population and resource consumption sections lend themselves to conducting fieldwork.
Topic overview:
Where could you undertake fieldwork on Population and Resource Consumption?
What kind of fieldwork activities could you carry out?
The Cryosphere is one of the longer case studies in the Earth's Natural Systems section of Powerful Geography 1. The Cryosphere represents all the world’s water that is frozen, permanently or seasonally, and can be found on every continent. The Cryosphere is a dynamic environment impacted by seasonal change, long term by natural processes, and accelerating change from anthropogenic causes. The cryosphere has become the “canary in the coal mine” for global climate change. Anthropogenic change is causing ice mass loss, a reduction in ice sheet extent, rising sea levels, melting permafrost. This topic would be an excellent opportunity for a overnight trip to Kosciuszko National Park, where you may be able to visit sites which demonstrate evidence of glaciers such as Moraine Pass, Blue Lake, Albina Cirque, Club Lake or Lake Cootapatamba. NPWS may be able to facilitate your field trip. View Going up the Mountain excursion. View Above the Treeline excursion.
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