On Thursday 10 May, several Year 9 and Year 12 students attended the Big Bio Day at Tomahawk Lagoon.

We had the opportunity to investigate the biodiversity of the Upper Lagoon at Tomahawk to identify both invertebrates and vertebrates present in the water column and substrate below the water, to learn about their ecological niche, and develop a presentation of the food web of the upper lagoon. We worked closely with scientists from EcoOtago, Andrew Innes and Dr Jonathon Kim who have been running a long term monitoring programme for the Lagoon. The students involved were able to call on the expertise of a researcher from the University Dr Marc Schallenberg and representatives from ORC, Fish and Game and New Zealand  ebird. A huge thanks to Dr Phil for helping us get there and to Miss Pollitt for giving up her time to supervise us for the day which was a great success.