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Flag of St. Kitts & Nevis |
Dear Sandwatchers
Lyn Jeffers School is no stranger
to the oceans as they have participated in the Ocean Conservancy’s
International Coastal Cleanup for the last five years. So when
Mrs. Knorr asked the Form 3 class would they like to join UNESCO’s
Sandwatch program they all replied with an enthusiastic “yes.” |
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The class of ten students chose Pinney’s Beach because of its
close proximity to their school. It is also the island’s main
tourist attraction. On May 12 they completed several of the
Sandwatch activities by dividing themselves into groups. They
sketched the beach, observed different activities on the beach,
surveyed beach users, measured and recorded beach debris,
cleaned the beach, observed common plants and animals, monitored
the beach for turtle nests, and collected some shell specimens
to catalogue.
They also tested the water in the Pinney’s Lagoon. The
temperature at 1:45 was 28c, biochemical oxygen demand was Oppm,
the PH was 6.9, the nitrate registered an amber color which was
not on the chart and the water had strong evidence of coliform.
They returned on June 12 and completed the same activities
noting the differences. Two differences were the appearance of a
wooden bridge over the lagoon that had been washed out by heavy
rain in May and the sand was visibly higher in front of the
lagoon. The water tested much the same and the litter on the
beach was about the same as well, with beach visitors leaving
most of the litter.
Students have expressed a desire
to continue the exercise through the summer.
They will be expanding the
activities to include sand monitoring and recording information
on the computer.
Miriam Knorr, teacher of English,
Literature and Geography at Lyn Jeffers School, Charlestown,
Nevis |
