Brewongle descended on Cattai National Park this week with the enthusiastic and talented year 7 & 8 students of Norwest Christian College. Geography was the aim of the day and the students spent their time discovering various Geographical field techniques. Cattai National Park is situated on the meandering Hawkesbury River near Pitt Town and has a rich history of Aboriginal and European occupation. The Cattai clan of the Darug people may have lived here for 20,000 years or longer – managing the landscape for its rich resources. The current historic Cattai Farm was originally built by First Fleet surgeon Thomas Arndell and has a rich history of use by his descendents. Visit a great resource of Darug language and culture on the Dharug Dalang website: http://www.dharug.dalang.com.au/Dharug/filedownload/FrontPage.html

Students were greeted by two chubby Kookaburras and numerous Eastern Grey Kangaroos stuck their noses in throughout the day. The piercing blue skies were a perfect backdrop to sit on the wharf and measure various water quality parameters and habitat qualities. Most groups agreed that the water quality was fairly good based on the paramters measured. These included temperature, turbidity, salinity, pH, oxygen and nutrient levels.

Cattai wharf water quality testing

Students also discovered how to use our Go Pro cameras to make short films about the old Arndell House homestead. These videos were very well done! The old water tanks were measured with clinometers and the acidity of the soil in the old vege patch was assessed with our soil kits. We hope that the ‘Race Around the Park’ activity improved your navigation skills and that the garlic bread cooked in our solar ovens filled grumbly stomachs!

Using clinometers to measure height

The rickety water towers

Go pro movie filming

Arndell House