Holiday fun at the beach this week!
Kris Laurendi with Shannon, Hong and Carrie up in Hedland to assist with turtle monitorning and holiday program
Care for Hedland’s holiday program for kids and families will be in full swing this week and mums, dads and children are invited to join in the fun at Cemetery Beach.
Each week day, except Australia Day, Turtle Monitoring coordinator Kris Laurendi said he’ll be taking kids down and showing them turtle, crab and other creature prints in the sand.
“We’ll also be doing beach cricket, frisbee and beach fishing too, as we want to teach kids sustainable fishing.”
Another highlight will be turtle sandcastle building which tends to be a big hit.
Families can also learn about cyclone changes on a beach.
“Even after a cyclone you can see the effects of the weather on the beach,” Mr Laurendi said.
“You can see how much the beach profile has changed, where egg chambers have been blown away.”
Interestingly, there were a lot of areas where sand was actually replaced on the dunes after Tropical Cyclone Heidi too.
Three visiting turtle monitors have been involved in the holiday program thus far and have a range of marine experiences to share with children, whilst themselves learning about our coastline.
Carrie Bertola did a marine course in Albany, south west WA.
“It was exciting and fascinating to see how small the hatchlings are, how their shells are, how little their flippers are and then how fast they can go down to the beach.
“You see them so lethargic in their nests and you think they’re never going to make it and then they’re off down the beach and into the water!”
Hong Diem Vo did half of her PhD and Master’s thesis in Sweden, then came to Townsville five months ago.
“It’s really nice to get kids come out and learn about nature, be curious about it and be closer to nature,” Hong said.
Shannon Hansen came up from Perth, having studied Coastal Zone Management at Curtin University.
“With families, it’s nice to be able to know what’s going on with the beach and how to protect it for the future,” she said.
“Turtle nesting is an important part of Port Hedland and may be a big tourist attraction, so learning how to approach the turtles is important for everyone,” Carrie said.
Tags: Beach Holiday Program, hedland, turtles
