University’s Marine Field Station welcomes student visitors

26 April, 2013

University’s Marine Field Station welcomes student visitors

The University of Waikato’s Coastal Marine Field Station at Sulphur Point continues to demonstrate its benefit to the local community, this time by involving secondary student volunteers in its operations.

On the first day of the April school holidays, eight Year 12 and 13 from Katikati and Mount Maunganui colleges visited the Field Station to work with staff.

The students helped collect and sort core sediment samples from the seabed around Sulphur Point and then examined them through a powerful microscope, revealing minute living creatures within the samples. This kind of work has been the backbone of the Field Station’s efforts to monitor effects on local marine life from the Rena grounding in 2011.

David Culliford, Field Station technician and the students’ supervisor for the day, said it was great to be able to provide such a practical opportunity for secondary school students with an interest in marine science to be “hands on” in the Field Station’s activities. Mr Culliford was impressed by the students’ enthusiasm and hoped the University’s Environmental Research Institute, which operates the Field Station, will offer more events such as this.

The students were treated to an unplanned trip to Pilot Bay to witness a pod of orca hunting stingrays. Field Station staff heard about the pod’s presence and decided a field trip was in order for the students.

Year 13 student, Morgan Tompsett from Katikati College, hopes to one day become a doctor of Marine Biology and was emphatic about seeing the orca and the day spent at the Field Station. “It was just awesome!”

Alex Junger (Year 12 and also from Katikati College) said the Field Station visit was an excellent opportunity, “to see what’s happening in the real world.”

The students labelled the Field Station “cool” and several were already imagining themselves pursuing a career in Marine Science.

Katikati College Science teacher Mat Kindley was there supporting his students and had high praise for the university’s Field Station staff and facilities. “We don’t get many opportunities to see what universities are doing.”

Mr Kindley is now looking into other ways he can involve his students in Field Station activities throughout the year.

ENDS

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