Engadine Wetlands Excursion

On the 11th of March, the Geography students of year 8 were privileged to have the opportunity to go on an excursion to Engadine to study the constructed wetlands that were built to protect the Royal National Park. While there, we made observations of our surroundings and performed various tests of water quality.

We met at Central Station at 8:30 and soon boarded the train to Engadine. Mr Chapman was the best dressed on the train. When we arrived at Engadine we stopped at Preston park and heard from Mr. Chapman about various sources of pollution from the surrounding built environment and how these pollutants affect the environment.

We then studied the constructed wetlands. We tested the water quality and learned about the purpose of the Engadine Wetlands. I found it really interesting how the wetlands have been constructed to process stormwater and protect the Royal National Park from pollutants.

The best part of the excursion however, was most definitely our bushwalk from Heathcote station to Karloo Pools. The bushwalk was a 4.5km track that was surrounded by incredible views and lush bushland. At the end of the bushwalk we were met with the unreal sight of Karloo Pools where we had lunch. As soon as we arrived everyone had their shoes and socks off and were enjoying the cold, fresh water. After being told we were not allowed to swim our only choice was to pretend to fall in. After an hour at the pools we started the bushwalk back. At the end of the bushwalk we all collapsed on the ground and then caught the train back home.

Overall the excursion was amazing and we all had a great time. A big thanks to Mr Chapman and Mr Van de Hoek for making the whole excursion run so smoothly and helping us with our understanding of the importance of water. A special shout out to everyone who had to wade through the stream to find they were sharing the water with freshwater eels.

Rhys Miers Year 8