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Photo by Katy Fitzgerald

Senior Hub visits to KVC

Katy Fitzgerald —

The Senior Hub have enjoyed their visits to Kaikorai Valley College to complete some water investigations.

Here are some of our highlights:

On Wednesday Room Six and some of Room Eight went down to KVC to do some water research about the Kaikorai Stream. First my group did electric fishing where a man put a rod in the water and it sent out a thing that shocked the fish so they couldn’t move, then he picked them up with a net. There were lots of fish in the stream and that meant the stream was healthy and didn't have too many chemicals in it. We caught a brown trout.

Next we did invertebrates, invertebrates means an animal that does not have a spine or backbone. We got containers, a syringe and a sieve each and we used them to pick up any invertebrates living in the stream so we could inspect them closer. It was lots of fun even when I didn’t catch that many.

For our third activity we measured water in soil and how worms need moisture in the soil to live or they will dry out. We also found some worms in the soil that some people got to hold. We measured the soil’s moisture in a mini garden and in some places it was drier than other places. We poured water into two cups, one with sand and one with dirt and gravel and stuff like that. The water traveled way quicker through the dirt than the sand - Matilda

On Wednesday afternoon we went to Kaikorai Valley College to study water. Our first activity was studying invertebrates. Invertebrate means that it does not have a spine. Most of us found three tail bugs. Our second activity was doing an experiment with dirt and sand. And then we went to the hill and poured water down it and into the grass to investigate run-off. For our third activity we went down to the lake to zap some fish (electric fishing). In the end we did not catch any fish but it was very fun. Our last activity was testing the Kaikorai Stream and other waters for how many germs they have in them - Mae

Last week I went to KVC. KVC stands for Kaikorai Valley College. We went there to learn about what cool stuff was in the water. We also went electric fishing. Electric fishing is where we put an electric thing in the water that stuns the fish so that the fish are still. Then we catch the fish with a net and we put it in a chilly bin so that it won't be an electric fish and we could look at it. The fish was a really small trout - Chihiro

What we saw ....Bugs and worms, family of fish, difference between river water and normal water

Who we saw …Dr McMillan, Mr Murphy

What I learned… Types of fish, how to catch water bugs, to wear sensible clothes, always be prepared.

My feelings…Worried that I will fall in, proud to catch a fish - Keziah

On Wednesday last week we went to KVC. The coolest session of the trip was the electric fishing. Electric fishing is when you have a machine with a wand. When you put it in the water it gives the fish a little shock and they float up above the water. When you put them in a chilly bin the fish will be happy again. I was frightened. The last group caught two trout. They were 8 months old. We got to touch them. They were slimy and slippery. We learned about water - Milah

At KVC invertebrates was my favourite thing to do. You got to find invertebrates in the stream, it was really fun. One of my invertebrates started killing all the others that I found so I just had one left, that was the one that killed all the others. Then we went to electric fishing. We found a rainbow trout who is quite big and the group before us found two little baby trout, they were tiny. Then all of the groups got back together and said our favourite thing and then we all went on the bus and went back to school - Joey

When we went to KVC I was excited to find invertebrates in the stream. My group mostly found little black invertebrates. Once we caught a few we used magnifying glasses to look at them up close. Since things were living in the stream we knew it was clean and healthy. We also went electric fishing but sadly our group didn't find any fish. We also tested soil dampness using special machines - Ollie K

It was fun at KVC. We did electric fishing and we caught a brown trout that was about 7 cm long - it was HUGE.  Before that we hunted bugs. I caught a big invertebrate - Noah M

My favourite activity was getting invertebrates. Invertebrate means it has no bones. This is how we did it. Step 1: we got a sieve and a little tube. Step 2: we had to sit in a spot where we could lift the rocks. Step 3: we got to lift the rocks and catch bugs. Step 4: then we went back to the table to see what the bugs were called. I got three or four bugs. There were brown bugs, black bugs, white bugs and lots more - Hayley

I really liked looking for invertebrates in the stream. All of us found mayflies. Some of us set up traps with the sieves, we would sit the sieve between two rocks and it would catch little creatures. Then we would put them in a cup of water. After that we would identify them on a sheet of paper. Our group found four invertebrates - Tyler