Otumoetai Intermediate's Coastal Discovery

Different species of sea creatures flashed before our eyes and disappeared before we knew it. Falling in was not as much fun as finding the creatures. As the waves tumbled into the rock pool we walked around, dodging the water. Sea Anemones and starfish were a good find compared to painted shrimp and cats eyes.

As the salty mist splashed over us, drenching us with water, we found more cats eyes. Exploring the Rock Pools was a very enjoyable experience. Leaping across we got our shoes drenched in water as waves collapsed over us, the water cold and salty. Finding many different creatures was a lot of fun.

Our shoes dried as we dawdled down the sandy path, the sea was in our sight. We took a sharp left and then sat on the soft golden sand. We tuned in to Chris’s voice to hear facts such as that the Spinifex and Pingao roots are like giant fishing nets that capture the sand and force it downwards to start the dunes, these roots are two metres long!

Our eyes searched the ground and all we saw were clumps of green and yellow weeds, so we stuck in our shovels and got to work. Weeding was easy but time consuming, and the sun was no help at all. We were driven by competitive spirit hoping and knowing that with every weed we killed and pulled out of the fine grains we had scored a point against Tauranga Intermediate. It was a pleasure to look around after the hard labour and see clear land which will one day be restored with proper plants to make sand dunes.

Sand and water sloshing in our shoes. We dug holes up to our knees and filled them with food fertilizer that looked like nerds! We put the Spinifex or Pingao in the holes and covered them with sand. The best part about planting the sand dunes was knowing that they will be there for a lot of years to come. They will create memories for generations and a legacy for our children.

We all love to go to the beach, but if there were no sand dunes, we would not be able to enjoy this luxury. That is why we were taught to keep the sand dunes safe and intact. We were also educated on how the sand dunes rebuild themselves after a storm by sending out runners that start new plants. Our groups really enjoyed re-planting and weeding the areas of beach that needed  restoring. Thank you again, it was a great honor working with you and an enjoyable day with the parents.

Room 2

Otumoetai Intermediate School