{"id":21717,"date":"2026-08-04T15:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T05:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/?post_type=article&#038;p=21717"},"modified":"2026-08-05T15:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T05:56:49","slug":"year-9-interdisciplinary-geography-and-science-field-work","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/article\/year-9-interdisciplinary-geography-and-science-field-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Year 9 Interdisciplinary Geography and Science Field Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Year 9 Interdisciplinary Fieldwork Project for Geography and Science at the Georges River Parklands provided students with a meaningful opportunity to investigate sustainability through real-world observation and data collection. Situated within a significant natural corridor in south-west Sydney, the Georges River Parklands offered a diverse environment in which students studied ecosystems, biodiversity, water quality and investigated conservation strategies and the human impacts on the environment. The concept of sustainability was central to this learning experience, encouraging students to evaluate how the Georges River environment can be protected for future generations while continuing to meet community needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Geography contributed spatial thinking and an understanding of the interactions between people and places and the analysis of data, while Science provided the tools to investigate environmental conditions. During the fieldwork, students collected water samples from the Georges River and conducted investigations into the presence of microplastics and other pollutants, examining how waste and human activity can influence the health of aquatic ecosystems. Students also surveyed the biodiversity of native plants and insects within the parklands, gaining insight into the important role these species play in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This interdisciplinary approach has strengthened inter-Department collaboration, student critical thinking and problem-solving skills while fostering a sense of environmental stewardship. By analysing field data and observing environmental management strategies in the real world, students developed authentic evidence-based recommendations to support the conservation of the Georges River ecosystem. Ultimately, the fieldwork demonstrated that achieving a sustainable future requires both scientific investigation and geographical understanding to balance the needs of people, communities, and the natural environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Ms Brigida Zagora<\/strong> <br>Head of HSIE<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Ms Natasha Kempers <\/strong><br>Head of Science<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Student reflections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I really enjoyed the excursion to Georges River because it incorporated both data collection and activities which directly protect the environment. I felt that we were able to grow our knowledge of the Georges River ecosystem, and understand data collection processes on a deeper level. Being able to pick up rubbish in the park meant that we all left the excursion knowing that we had made a positive impact on the environment.<\/em><br><strong>Jess Price<\/strong><br>Year 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Year 9 excursion to Georges River was an engaging experience that strengthened our understanding of environmental issues. Overall, the excursion was a valuable learning experience that broadened our awareness of environmental challenges.<\/em><br><strong>Alegra Cencigh<\/strong><br>Year 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I learnt about the many issues our local environments face. Such as microplastic pollution, erosion of the river&#8217;s sand, and water pollution. We were encouraged to discover and research within the reserve and begin to think about how we could improve or solve these issues for a better future.<\/em><br><strong>Jet Martin<\/strong><br>Year 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Georges River Site was a great learning experience where we were able to engage in an array of different tasks in order to learn more about the loss of biodiversity. Overall, the day consisted of many hands-on activities where we were able to measure different management strategies to get a wider understanding of the loss of biodiversity occurring throughout the area.<\/em><br><strong>Kristina Pawley<\/strong><br>Year 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We participated in hands-on activities such as testing, water quality and determining levels of biodiversity in the area. From this we learned the impact and the increasing damage of climate change and pollution on native environments. This relates to our inquiry topic, Treading Lightly, which focuses on promoting environmental sustainability.<\/em><br><strong>Isla The<\/strong><br>Year 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5530.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"473\" height=\"630\" data-id=\"21719\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5530.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5530.jpg 473w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5530-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5530-113x150.jpg 113w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5534.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"493\" height=\"658\" data-id=\"21718\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5534.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5534.jpg 493w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5534-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5534-112x150.jpg 112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5544.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"669\" height=\"892\" data-id=\"21720\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5544.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5544.jpg 669w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5544-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5544-113x150.jpg 113w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5545.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"661\" height=\"881\" data-id=\"21723\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5545.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5545.jpg 661w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5545-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5545-113x150.jpg 113w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 661px) 100vw, 661px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5546.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"21724\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5546-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5546-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5546-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5546-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5546.jpg 777w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5552.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"962\" data-id=\"21721\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5552.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5552.jpg 720w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5552-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5552-112x150.jpg 112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5529.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"461\" height=\"615\" data-id=\"21722\" src=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5529.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5529.jpg 461w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5529-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d1dfwahqlx324v.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/IMG_5529-112x150.jpg 112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Year 9 Interdisciplinary Fieldwork Project for Geography and Science at the Georges River Parklands provided students with a meaningful opportunity to investigate sustainability through real-world observation and data collection. Situated within a significant natural corridor in south-west Sydney, the Georges River Parklands offered a diverse environment in which students studied ecosystems, biodiversity, water quality [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","article_category":[4],"article_tag":[],"class_list":["post-21717","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_category-secondary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/21717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=21717"},{"taxonomy":"article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/ssc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_tag?post=21717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}