Category Archives: Resources & Activities

Best Christmas Holiday Beach Activities

There are so many awesome things to do on the beach that will keep everyone occupied for hours this Christmas holiday. The beach is a great place to have fun while learning about the ocean without even knowing it!

Here’s Ocean Life Educations’ guide to the best beach activities this Christmas holiday …

1. Make a Christmas Sand Sculpture 

Tools: one large bucket, various sized smaller buckets and cups and bowls, wooden spatula, beach spade.

Carving tools: gardening spade, paper straws, wooden kebab spears, knives, forks, spoons, string for shaving and shaping, various sized paint brushes, plastic spray bottle filled with fresh water (to stop sand drying out) – salt water will block the spray.

Note. Always try to take as little plastic to the beach as possible. Even with the best intentions, things often get lost in the sand. 

Christmas Sand Sculpture Method:

🐠 Choose your festive theme

Maybe start off with a simple idea like a Xmas tree or why not just go for it and get straight down to a Santa bearing gifts!

🐠 Use a big bucket to make a base

Cut the bottom out of an old bucket, turn it upside down and fill it with sand to create a stable base which is too heavy to flip up. See details of how to fill the bucket below…

🐠 Sand consistency is key

Sand consistency is key to success. Add sand to water, not water to sand. Sand needs to be wet but not slushy and not powdery and dry – like a mud consistency really.

🐠  Pack the sand in the bucket 

Pack the sand in the bucket – no more than 7cm thick at a time. Use a wooden spatula to ensure you are firmly packing down the sand as you go. Keep adding like this until the bucket is full. Tap the sides of the bucket with your spatula and if the consistency is good, you should easily be able to remove the bucket to expose your foundation sand block. 

🐠 Build up your base 

Keep adding more sand to your base and compacting it, 7cms at a time, until you have achieved the size and height that you require for your design.

🐠  Carve your sand sculpture 

You are now ready to start work on carving your creation! Remember to carve your sand sculpture from the top down. Create your basic outline and get rid of any unwanted sand. Now it’s time to get down to the detail…

Happy sand carving!

 

2. Go Rock Pooling

Both adults and budding marine biologists will love discovering the black sea cucumbers, rose barnacles and sea stars plus many more creatures that make their home in the waters of rocky shoreline areas. Here are some great places to go rock pooling at low tide…

🦀 Point Cartwright, Buddina

A local treasure between the river mouth and the headland. Bountiful sandy rock pools with loads to see, perfect for kids to explore safely at low tide.

 

 

🦀 Kings Beach, Caloundra

Sheltered rock pools with abundant marine life and plenty more to do.

 

 

 

🦀 Shelly Beach

Renowned for its ankle-deep rock pools that abound with marine life.

 

 

 

Remember to stay safe and be mindful of the tide! And…don’t put your hands in where you cant see what’s there. You never know, there may be a Blue Ringed Octopus lurking around!!!!

Happy hunting! 🦀🦀

Want to know more about rockpools? Check out our blog : https://www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au/rock-pools-rock/

 

3. Get Crafty – make a sustainable Christmas tree or mobile

 

 

 

 

Sustainable driftwood Christmas trees and hanging mobiles made with washed up plastic or glass make great sustainable Christmas decorations. Adding lights and other decorations to a tree will really give it a Xmasy glow.

 

PROTECT OUR BEACHES

We don’t encourage people to remove shells from the beach. The beach needs them more than we do. If you are tempted, please ensure you return them to where you found them!

PLASTIC FREE BEACHES

Try not to take any plastic to the beach, things often get accidentally lost in the sand and can end up in the sea.

Enjoy the ocean and have a Merry Christmas from the team at Ocean Life Education!

How oceans help fight Covid-19

There is no doubt that our health is intimately tied to the health of the earth and its’ oceans. According to UNESCO, our oceans not only help in the detection of COVID-19 but could also help combat it.

 

How oceans help detect Coronavirus

Bacteria found in the depths of the ocean are currently being used to carry out tests to detect the presence of COVID-19. The bacteria were identified years ago and have been used to diagnose other viruses such as AIDS and SARS.

 

How oceans could help treat Covid-19

 

 

In addition to diagnosis, many commonly used medicinal products already come from the ocean, including ingredients that help fight cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and heart disease. The potential health benefits lie in the diversity of microbes found in the ocean’s hydrothermal vents. These are currently being researched as a potential treatment for Covid-19.

 

 

 

Our lives depend on healthy oceans (and a healthy planet) in many ways. Oceans cover nearly three quarters of the Earth’s surface; contain 97 per cent of the Earth’s water and support life on earth by providing oxygen and food to an astonishing range of ocean and non-ocean life.

 

 

10 Reasons Why We Depend On Our Oceans

Healthy, productive oceans are essential for food, jobs and economic growth. They also keep the planet cool – in more ways than one!

1. 50-70% of our oxygen – This oxygen comes from phytoplankton (tiny oceanplants that live close to the water’s surface and use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make food).

 

2. Absorption of carbon dioxide – About 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans is absorbed by our oceans, buffering the impacts of global warming.

3. Climate regulation – Oceans transport heat from the equator to the poles, regulating our climate and weather patterns.

4. Economic benefit and jobs for millions of people – Ocean-dependant businesses directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people worldwide.

5. Food for millions of people – Oceans serve as the world’s largest source of protein, with more than 3 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source. Ingredients from the sea are found in surprising foods such as peanut butter and soymilk.

6. Breakdown and removal of waste and pollution

7. Marine transportation for world trade – Over two thirds of most developed countries’ trade involves some form of marine transportation.

8. The majority of life on earth – As over 70% of the Earth’s surface is underwater, it comes as no surprise that marine species outnumber those on land – an incredible 94 per cent of the Earth’s living species exist within the oceans.

9. Tourism, recreation and fun  – Fishing, boating, kayaking, diving, surfing and whale watching – the ocean provides us with many unique activities. Humans just love the beach and coastline!

10. Medicine: Many medicinal products come from the ocean, including ingredients that help fight cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease. The ocean is also an ally in fighting Covid 19.

 

 

Rock Pools Rock!

A treasure trove of marine delights hides in plain sight along our coastline.

Rock pools are tiny but complex ecosystems, where only the hardiest of inhabitants survive the onslaught that nature throws at them.

Pounded by waves, whipped by the wind and exposed to the sun, the creatures who lie within have learnt to adapt to their constantly changing world.

At high tide they are connected to the greater ocean environment, but when the water level drops, they are isolated, and vulnerable to predators and the elements.

Water temperatures can vary by as much as 20 degrees in the shallowest of pools from the intensity of the midday sun at low tide, to the flushing of cooling currents when the shoreline floods again.

Making the most of available shelter is the key to survival in the inter tidal zone. Sea urchins wedge themselves into cramped crevices, sea stars and sea cucumbers cling to the underside of rocks, making them often invisible at a casual glance.

Spotting the life inside these pools takes patience and care. Small fish will dart to the edges when noise, vibrations or shadows alert them to potential predators but stay quiet and still for long enough and they pop back out.

A carefully concealed creature can give away its hidey-hole by one misplaced limb that can take minutes of constant gazing to spy.

And while it may be tempting to delve a little deeper into the darker patches, beware the dangers that lurk within.

Blue ringed octopus are only little but their venom packs a punch – one bite from these highly venomous cephalopods can kill a human in minutes. A hands off approach with rock pools is the safest option.

But if visiting the coast is not a practical option, Ocean Life Education can bring the rock pool to you in a safe yet interactive incursion designed to showcase the animals that live around our beaches.

Sea stars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins can all be carefully handled during our visits to schools, early learning centres and special events, as we explain the important role our oceans play in keeping our planet healthy.

We offer a wide range of programs that align with the Australian curriculum and cover topics such as adaptations, habitats and human impact.

Let Ocean Life Education inspire your students to become interested in coastal environments and as they look, listen and touch their way to a greater understanding of the marine world, they will start to see why rock pools rock.