A joint initiative between NRF-SAIAB and NRF-SAEON Elwandle Node recently provided Geography educators from the Nelson Mandela Bay District with a valuable opportunity to participate in hands-on field research at the Sundays River Estuary, Gqeberha.  The main aim was to support educators in gaining confidence in implementing scientific methods in their classroom set-up as stipulated in the curriculum.

The educators traded their four-walled classroom for an outdoor classroom, gumboots, and field notebooks by visiting the Sundays River estuary to learn first-hand how scientists collect data. Under the guidance of Dr. Phakama Nodo, a SAIAB postdoctoral scientist, participants were divided into groups and received practical training in core data collection techniques. These included measuring salinity, temperature, turbidity, and pH, as well as identifying and counting fish species using the field guide manual developed by both NRF-SAIAB and NRF-SAEON team members. 

For many of the educators, this marked their first experience using specialised scientific equipment and conducting research aboard a research vessel. The learning experience did not only end in the field, but it also extended beyond fieldwork. Educators were required to make sense of and interpret the data they collected, thereby engaging in parts of the scientific process from data collection to interpretation and communication. There were lots of deliberations within groups whilst they were developing their presentations, and those discussions led to excellent presentations of their findings.