By Samantha Paterson | Posted: Wednesday March 2, 2022
On the 3rd of March this year a group of Year 13 students from the Agricultural Science class carried out an investigation into freshwater as part of an assessment.
This field trip required them to carry out different tests along the Opihi river to determine the impact of dairy farming on freshwater invertebrates. Some of the tests they carried out were invertebrate sampling, clarity testing along with nitrate and phosphate samples. These tests allow us to determine what aspects of the freshwater quality might be impacting on the ecosystems that it supports. We also were able to visit John Wright’s dairy farm in Fairlie where the students were shown around the farm. On Friday we had different speakers to talk about the Opihi river and farm management along with the water analysis to find out the Nitrate and Phosphate levels. Thank you to everyone involved over the two days.
