CoastEd

Incursion, Excursion and Online

Key themes: Coastal processes, shoreline management, beach ecology and coastal environments, history of Gold Coast beaches.

Through an interactive presentation at your school or local beach, students are introduced to the natural processes that shape our coast. Longshore drift is visually explained, and our CoastEd representative will highlight the history of the Gold Coast beaches and the coastal management techniques in place to mitigate natural processes such as erosion. Depending on the choice of your excursion location, various coastal management techniques will be highlighted such as sand bypass systems, beach nourishment and dredging.

For more information see Queensland Syllabus links.

Managing our coastline and coastal processes: curriculum guide

Excursion

Key themes: marine debris, collecting and interpreting data, monitoring, ecological impacts and ecosystem services.

This session focuses on the accumulation and impacts of plastic debris on marine and coastal environments. Our CoastEd representative will introduce the sources of plastics to the ocean and its major sinking areas in coastal environments. Students will use scientific methods to collect quantitative and qualitative data on plastics debris found on our beaches and coastal dunes. The session concludes with a discussion about the spatial distribution of plastics debris, its impacts on ecosystem services and the importance of monitoring and modelling to improve management strategies. The session can be focused on macro and/or microplastics.

Incursion and excursion

Key themes: coastal management, disaster management, team building, board games.

For the Sea Change challenge, participants work in teams to decide which coastal management practices to apply in a changing environment, considering different stakeholder groups, population growth, climate change, weather events, erosion and storm tides. Using scientific data gathered since 1999, disaster scenarios are presented to the participants in several rounds, after which they need to take management action. The challenge can be delivered inside or outside the classroom to any number of students. It considers real-life scenarios, future weather events and the uncertainties inherent to coastal management planning.

Incursion and excursion

Key themes: Wave action, coastal processes, coastal management, economy, tourism.

This session focuses on waves: how they form, where they come from, what makes them break and what constitutes safe or dangerous waves. During an excursion, students will aim to identify types of waves and rip currents and examine how waves affect the shape of our coastline. Your CoastEd representative will also discuss coastal management techniques that deal with wave action and how healthy waves positively impact the Gold Coast economy. The program also highlights the City of Gold Coast’s surf management plan.

For more information see Queensland Syllabus links.

Science of the surf: curriculum guide

Incursion

Key themes: Geology, use of microscopes, identification techniques and coastal processes.

This incursion or excursion focuses entirely on sand. Students will learn about the origin of sand—what it is and how it ended up on the beach. Students will split into groups and receive their own sand sample. They can also look at sand through microscopes and complete a sand studies sheet with tasks including sieving and weighing sand. The students are introduced to sand from different parts of Australia and around the world and learn about why there are such differences in the size, colour and shape of sand grains. The session concludes with students delivering a presentation about their sand sample and finding out where their sand sample originated.

For more information see Queensland Syllabus links.

Studies in sand: curriculum guide

Incursion (For Years 5 and 6)

Key themes: beach health, dune vegetation, coastal protection, tourism and recreation.

The Gold Coast is renowned for its beautiful white sandy beaches, which support our coastal lifestyle, tourism and flora and fauna. In this program, students receive an introduction to the three important indicators for a healthy beach. They will undertake activities (using kinetic sand, field guides and clay) where they will create an ideal beach, taking coastal protection, ecology and tourism into account. This hands-on activity focuses on STEM skills and creates a fun and challenging competition between students. All equipment and resources will be provided.

For more information see Queensland Syllabus links.

Build a beach: curriculum guide

Excursion

Key themes: Economics, tourism, value of beaches, surveys.

This excursion teaches students how to view beaches from an economic perspective, taking in the costs involved in maintaining them as well as the monetary and non-monetary value they deliver to the community. Students undertake a brief survey to estimate the value of the beach at the excursion location, considering factors such as beach visitation, tourism and beach management.

For more information see Queensland Syllabus links.

Monetary value of beaches: Curriculum guide

Excursion

Key themes: Beach health, indicators, survey, coastal management.

Griffith Centre for Coastal Management has recently conducted a study to measure indicators quantifying beach health. The study forms the foundation of this excursion, in which students will receive an introduction to beach health and a brief presentation on coastal processes/coastal management before assessing a selection of beaches. Factors such as economic, natural and recreational health will all be considered and will promote discussion between students.

For more information see Queensland Syllabus links.

How to measure the health of a beach: curriculum guide

Excursion

Key themes: Tourism, coastal management, Gold Coast history, sustainability, economics.

This session concentrates on how beaches impact Gold Coast tourism. The CoastEd facilitator will cover the history of Gold Coast tourism and its influence on coastal management, development and infrastructure. Students will also learn how coastal engineering has supported tourism development. Students will undertake a tourism-focused SWOT analysis of a beach and discuss sustainability and economic growth.

For more information see Queensland Syllabus links.

Tourism and development on Gold Coast beaches: curriculum guide