Students join local environmental group for annual shellfish monitoring at Sandspit

Students from Years 9 and 10 recently joined members of local environmental conservation group FOAM (the Friends of Awa Matakanakana), to complete the annual shellfish monitoring at Sandspit. The 'outdoor classroom' activity took place on the beautiful setting of the foreshore alongside the spit. The work involved digging up a sample of sand down to a depth of about 100 cms, rinsing out the sand and then sorting the shellfish into species, before recording the numbers on a data sheet. Tuangi/cockles were also measured as well as counted. The data will be compared to previous years, by FOAM and scientists from Auckland Council.

Tuangi are filter feeders and live just below the surface of the sand. They siphon in, and then exhale, seawater. They can siphon up to 3 litres an hour! This action can have a positive effect on water clarity. They are sensitive to environmental stressors including sediment, water temperature and contaminants such as nitrates. Initial data comparisons suggest the numbers have declined significantly over the past 12 months. 

The weather was kind to us and everyone worked really hard for over two hours, to complete the task. A sausage sizzle was provided by Restore Rodney East.  FOAM would like to thank all of the Horizon staff and students involved, along with accompanying parents/helpers and RRE for their support.