At work with Daddy on Straddie!

We've just come back from a big 'work' adventure. I'm currently helping the International Water Centre coordinate a visit to Queensland for 19 Indonesian water managers (via an AusAid-funded program) and part of the scheduling included a visit to North Stradbroke Island (Straddie). The trip included some time to have a look around, but there was a strong focus on a couple of sessions about conceptual diagrams and their use in science communication and reporting (more on this later).

Since Eli has never been to Straddie before, I thought I'd try and bring him along. I was a bit anxious about it, given that I had to work and make sure he was happy and staying out of trouble at the same time, but I had some great reinforcements on hand, with Cameron and Emily willing and able to play with Eli when I couldn't be with him. It turns out that I needn't have worried at all, because Eli got along with everyone really well. In fact, he was a real hit with the visitors and even before we boarded the ferry to head over to Straddie he was already being cheeky - tickling people and running around like a lunatic!

Once we arrived at the Moreton Bay Research Station we went straight into a Conceptual Diagrams session - as you can see from the photo of Eli, he was still pretty hyped up and happy being the centre of attention, so after a while Cameron took him for a walk down at the beach (so he was no longer a distraction to all of us!). He also spent a lot of time scavenging in the garden around the Research Station for Banksia cones and he was very, very excited when he found a coconut (which we then had to lug back to the house that we were staying in!).



It was a big first day and Eli didn't get to bed until 9pm and he was totally knackered. I think he was asleep within a couple of minutes of me reading him a story (which is very unusual), but that was a good thing, because the next day was going to be even bigger.

After the theory of the preceeding day, Thursday was all about getting out and about, with a big sand modelling session on the beach in the morning. Here, the group worked in four teams to model their catchments and water issues, essentially converting their drawings into 3D models.





Eli got into the spirit of things too, by building his own sand model down near the water. His model featured a dam, with frequent water releases causing downstream flooding...he was also looking into the effect of dredging...



After completing the models, we had a bit of a break before each group spoke about the issues confronting their catchments and some possible solutions to the problems...



After each presentation Eli was invited (and actively encouraged) to destroy each groups model - as you might imagine, he took just a few seconds to demolish models that had taken an hour or so to build...thankfully everyone enjoyed it!



After a busy morning of building (and for Eli, destroying) sand models, it was off to Point Lookout, for lunch and a bit of free time to have a look around. It was a beautiful spring day and Eli and I made the most of our time (with a drink and a gelati) while the group went for a walk around part of the Gorge.



After our stop at Point Lookout, we all piled back onto the bus and headed for Brown Lake. With a captive audience, I took the opportunity to speak about the groundwater extraction and sand mining issues on Straddie, but by the time we were approaching Brown Lake Eli noticed that many of the group were asleep. I asked Eli if it was my talking that had put them to sleep...and of course he said 'Yes, you were boring'.

Once we arrived at Brown Lake, Eli took great joy in using the microphone on the bus to wake everyone up again. I then spoke a bit about the formation and ecology of perched dune lakes and the issues with visitor impacts and powerboating on Brown Lake. Eli was one of the few to wade into the lake and he even caught a firetailed gudgeon - it was already dead actually - here he is standing in the tannin-stained waters, holding his catch aloft!



I'm not sure if Eli was inspired by my performance (or just bored by it), but after I'd finished speaking he then gave the visitors a lecture too...



The following day, on the way back to the ferry, Eli took a photo of everyone in the bus (after he'd told them 'Don't fall asleep!')...and then Eli kept some of 'the boys' awake on the ferry ride home...



It was a massive (and successful) trip and fittingly, a very tired Eli fell asleep in the car on the way home...tempted as I was to tell him to wake up (to give him a taste of his own medicene), I was happy for him to get some well earned rest.