Secondary students to work with Lincoln University researchers - 4th, 6th, 8th December 2006
Biology students from Christchurch secondary schools who will be entering Year 13 in 2007 are giving up some holiday time next week to develop their field work skills through ecological research on Quail Island in Lyttelton Harbour.
The re-establishment of native animal and plant life on Quail Island is an
on-going project carried out through the Quail Island Ecological Restoration Trust with volunteer help from Lincoln University and other sources.
The secondary students will on the island on the following days –
Monday 4 December (mainly Villa Maria students)
Wednesday 6 December (mainly Burnside High students)
Friday 8 December (mainly Christchurch Girls’ High students)
The students will be travelling across to the island on the 10.20am ferry (Lyttelton Harbour B Jetty) and returning at 3.30pm.
Activities the students will undertake may include -
A census of nesting shag and southern black backed gulls.
A count of geckos and checking lizard lodges.
Counting butterflies.
Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate sites.
Looking for invertebrates in leaf litter samples.
Mapping rabbit distribution.
Preparing an island map for soil moisture.
The students will be working with Lincoln University staff members Sue Unsworth, the University’s Science Outreach Co-ordinator, and Mike Bowie of the Bio-Protection and Ecology Division.
The overall Quail Island project is a good community effort aimed at protecting and enhancing a local environmental treasure. The involvement of secondary school students in their free time is a good example of a “positive news story” involving the younger generation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Ian Collins, Journalist
Lincoln University, Canterbury
Tel: 64 3 325 2811 ext 8549
Email: Ian Collins