The day started well when I went for a super-cold morning swim in the 16 degree waters of Schooner Cove. It was great swimming around but I could not see very far underwater due to the unique tannin-stained layer of freshwater that sits above the salty seawater in Schooner Cove and the rest of Port Davey. It was a bit like swimming in cold tea but not so tasty!


The Cleanup for High School Day 5 : 21-02-2017
Green Island beach cleanup
We then set sail for Green Island main beach. It took two hours to get there and as we sailed along I had mixed feelings about what we would find when we arrived. Last year I was part of the team that cleaned this beach and it was a long tough day:
- First we had to pull thousands of little bits of rubbish out of all the rotting seaweed that is found along the middle of this beach.
- Then we had to sort and count all the smelly rubbish back on the boat. Yuk!
But despite the rubbish and the rotting seaweed this beach is a beautiful and interesting place.
- It has a lovely little creek that flows past an Aboriginal tool-making site.
- Rugged, jagged rocks form a cosy little bay.
- There is a hidden wetland behind the main sand dune that is full of life.
- Signs of life are everywhere.
When we finally got to the beach it seemed a bit cleaner after cleanup last year but we still managed to pick up over 15000 pieces of plastic and rope in 3-4 hours of smelly cleaning!
I used my lunch time to make a field sketch diagram that I hope will help you understand the features of this very interesting place.
You can see the basic field sketch here>>
..and the more complicated field sketch with geographical processes here>>
That night we anchored at Southeast bight (Map ref -43.304385, 145.847451) and slept very, very deeply.
We are looking forward to cleaning and investigating Towterer beach tomorrow. Theo and I are going to set up a beach classroom!
See you soon!
Pat







- Read the report and list the living things that are mentioned.
- Stony
- Click here
- Have a look at the features on the sketch of the beach, can you think of more labels?