Fremantle Primary School – Science week “Home River Ocean”
7th November, 2017
During August, Fremantle Primary School celebrated Fish Day by bringing in a range of presenters for the classes to engage with and to learn about issues related to providing a good environment to support the vibrant fishing industry in Fremantle
Adeline Morrissey, Perth NRM’s Coastal and Marine Program Manager, talked about “Home River Ocean” and the importance of using fertilizers correctly so they don’t leach down into our waterways, enter the ocean and create algae blooms which affect seagrass meadows. This in turn reduces the ability for marine creatures such as the Blue Swimmer Crab to survive and reproduce.
Enthusiastic students from years 1, 3, 5 and 6 carried out hands on experiments by adding “fertilizer” (blue dyed sugar) to water then watched how it leached through sandy soil and entered the “groundwater” which was set up in a series of containers. The classes then discussed what they had learnt, analysed a real crab and healthy seagrass and were able to take away a message to share with their families.