From Classroom to Coastline – Year 10 Geography in Action
What happens when you swap desks for dunes and textbooks for tide charts? You get real learning, right where it is happening.
Our Year 10 Geography students recently ditched the classroom for a day and headed out to explore the Perth coastline. They started at Hillarys, then made their way south through Scarborough and Cottesloe, before wrapping up at Port Beach.
It was all about seeing what they had learned in class, out in the real world.
Seeing It Firsthand
After studying the impacts of environmental change in Lancelin, the girls were able to compare those insights to what is happening closer to home. Winter weather has left its mark on Perth’s most iconic beaches, and the students could clearly see the effects of erosion and sediment movement.
Along the way, they spotted a range of coastal management strategies, such as sea walls, groynes, managed retreats and beach nourishment, and dug into questions about how well these actually work.
Nothing beats seeing this stuff up close.
Taking the Classroom Outside
This excursion tied straight into their current topic: Environmental Change and Management. But more than that, it allowed students to think critically, ask questions and understand the perspectives that shape coastal planning, like how councils balance community needs, safety and the environment.
It is one thing to read about these ideas in a textbook. It is another thing entirely to see the coastline changing under your feet.
Curiosity & Questions
Despite the chilly weather, the girls were full of curiosity and thoughtful questions. They represented Santa Maria beautifully and really leaned into the opportunity.
Eva said, “I enjoyed the adventure of leaving the classroom to see what we have learned in the real world.”
Kyra shared, “I really liked it when we visited the beaches, sat down, and answered questions as a group. Bonding with others in the class was also a good experience.”
Moments like these remind us that learning is everywhere, not just within the four walls of a classroom.
Skills That Go Beyond Geography
This field trip was about sparking curiosity, asking big questions, and understanding how our choices shape the world around us today.
By seeing coastal change and management up close, our students walked away with more than knowledge; they left with insight, perspective and a deeper appreciation of their world.
- CoastalErosion, EnvironmentalChange, Featured, OutdoorLearning, PerthCoastline, SantaMariaCollege, StudentLife, Year10Excursion, Year10Geography
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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