Theme: Turn the Tide

Seaweek '90 coordinator: Don Alcock

Extending the theme - classroom activities

People Problems

Aim

• to understand how human activities can affect an ecosystem.

Activity

• Students think of examples of the ways in which the sea is used as a rubbish dump (marine pollution issues) eg sewage, industrial waste, drains etc.
• Discuss the effects of these activities on the animals and plants living there.
• Students choose a marine pollution issue and imagine that they are an animal living in the affected ecosystem. Ask them to think of the problems they would encounter. How would they overcome them? Would they survive?
• Explore these issues further by writing a story about their adventures or by designing a poster to save their ecosystem from destruction by humans.

Adapted from the Marine Life Resources Kit for Seaweek'89 by Queenscliff Marine Discovery Centre.

Clean ocean clues

The sea is home to many plants and animals, in it they find food and shelter. Our rubbish does not belong in the sea. How does it get there? How can we help to keep the sea clean and healthy?

Crossword and line puzzle adapted from the Media Kit for Seaweek '98 by Barbara Jensen and Louise Stewart

Across 3 Turtles often mistake these for sea jellies. 5 Wash your car here instead of the driveway. 6 Excessive amounts of this may cause blue green algal blooms. 8 The term for the deliberate disposal of pollution 9 Dolphins can get entangled in these. 12 What can you do instead of hosing the driveway? 13 Rubbish dropped in the streets gets into the sea via these. Down 1 No marine pollution means _ _ _ _ _ and healthy _ _ _ _ _ _. 2 This pollution prevents birds from flying. 4 Can you help to keep the oceans clean and healthy? 6 Avoid using these on your garden pests. 7 This can smother seagrass beds. 10 Adopt the three R's _ _ _ _ _ _ , reuse and recycle. 11 Most of the pollution in the oceans originates from the _ _ _ _.

View a larger version of the crossword.