Today me and some of my hub went to the Groynes so that we could learn about the wildlife that lives there. Once we got there the ranger gave us a tour around the nature trail. we learned about the different trees around the Groynes, the ranger taught us about native and non-native trees. my favorites were the lemon wood tree because of the scent of its leaves and the kowhai tree because of their easy to rip off leaves. When we got to the bridge we got a brief description of the ducks that were around. Once we got to the other side we got to search for insects in the water. We had to get in a group of 4 and get a station where there were 2 mini plastic spoons, 2 sieves on a stick and 2 magnifying glasses. at our station we had 2 containers, 1 had compartments and both were filled with water. The instructor showed us how to collect water insects using the sieves. They told us that most water insects stay under plants because the insects didn’t want to be bird food so we had to sway the sieves slowly under the water plants that were near the shore. My group got 4 water boatmen, 3 water fleas, and 3 cyclopes. Once we cleaned that up we got to play a game where there was 1 paradise shelduck, 3 damselflies, 8 water boatmen, and 11 water plants. It was a game of survival where 1 had to eat the other. I was a water plant. To survive I needed water, the sun, and some soil.
I had lots of fun on my trip to the Groynes and enjoyed learning new information about freshwater habitats. My favorite part of the entire trip was probably getting to learn more about damselflies and learning more about the lemon wood tree.