Low Tide, High Interest – Oceans 11 Hits the Beach

Low tide, seashells, and the cutest and creepiest crawlies: Last Thursday, Mr. Dietrich’s and Mrs. Hadley’s Oceans 11 classes embarked on an exciting field trip to Kingsport Beach. Accompanied by a whopping low tide of more than 12 metres, we had the perfect opportunity to inspect the flora and fauna of the intertidal zone.

While the name speaks for itself, the intertidal zone is the area that tides cover or expose as they come and go, leaving animals and plants alike to survive in the open air for hours. Luckily, it also provided us, inquisitive students, with amazing sponges, fish, worms and seaweed to discover and see in real life.

As we ventured farther and farther across the muddy terrain toward the shoreline, we got to see an increasing amount of life emerging from the sand and rocks.

From sulphur-boring sponges (which were far from boring) to green clam worms, sand shrimp and even a sculpin, Mr. Kershaw explained how to tilt rocks and peer underneath to search for life, and thoroughly described each animal we found. Tiny hermit crabs and periwinkles (sea snails!) regularly appeared crawling in the sand and little tidal pools.

And while the rising tide chased us back to the bus at a surprising speed, we examined the great biodiversity hiding just below the ocean’s surface with unmatched enthusiasm. At the end of the day, this field trip was the perfect way to end a year of learning – and we had a whale of a time! Thanks to all the teachers who made it possible.