diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index aa66221..f650717 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-![Code Health](https://github.com/COSIMA/esmgrids/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)
+![Tests](https://github.com/COSIMA/esmgrids/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)
 
 # esmgrids
 
diff --git a/esmgrids/cice_grid.py b/esmgrids/cice_grid.py
index 8e7585e..0d10cd1 100644
--- a/esmgrids/cice_grid.py
+++ b/esmgrids/cice_grid.py
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ def fromfile(cls, h_grid_def, mask_file=None, description="CICE tripolar"):
             description=description,
         )
 
-    def create_2d_nc_var(self, nc, name):
+    def _create_2d_nc_var(self, nc, name):
         # set chunksizes based on OM2 config
         # To-do: load these from a configuration file?
         if self.num_lon_points == 360:  # 1deg
@@ -117,54 +117,54 @@ def write(self, nc):
         # names are based on https://cfconventions.org/Data/cf-standard-names/current/build/cf-standard-name-table.html
         nc.Conventions = "CF-1.6"
 
-        ulat = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "ulat")
+        ulat = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "ulat")
         ulat.units = "radians"
         ulat.long_name = "Latitude of U points"
         ulat.standard_name = "latitude"
-        ulon = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "ulon")
+        ulon = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "ulon")
         ulon.units = "radians"
         ulon.long_name = "Longitude of U points"
         ulon.standard_name = "longitude"
-        tlat = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "tlat")
+        tlat = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "tlat")
         tlat.units = "radians"
         tlat.long_name = "Latitude of T points"
         tlat.standard_name = "latitude"
-        tlon = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "tlon")
+        tlon = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "tlon")
         tlon.units = "radians"
         tlon.long_name = "Longitude of T points"
         tlon.standard_name = "longitude"
 
-        htn = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "htn")
+        htn = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "htn")
         htn.units = "cm"
         htn.long_name = "Width of T cells on North side."
         htn.coordinates = "ulat tlon"
         htn.grid_mapping = "crs"
-        hte = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "hte")
+        hte = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "hte")
         hte.units = "cm"
         hte.long_name = "Width of T cells on East side."
         hte.coordinates = "tlat ulon"
         hte.grid_mapping = "crs"
 
-        angle = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "angle")
+        angle = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "angle")
         angle.units = "radians"
         angle.long_name = "Rotation angle of U cells."
         angle.standard_name = "angle_of_rotation_from_east_to_x"
         angle.coordinates = "ulat ulon"
         angle.grid_mapping = "crs"
-        angleT = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "angleT")
+        angleT = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "angleT")
         angleT.units = "radians"
         angleT.long_name = "Rotation angle of T cells."
         angleT.standard_name = "angle_of_rotation_from_east_to_x"
         angleT.coordinates = "tlat tlon"
         angleT.grid_mapping = "crs"
 
-        area_t = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "tarea")
+        area_t = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "tarea")
         area_t.units = "m^2"
         area_t.long_name = "Area of T cells."
         area_t.standard_name = "cell_area"
         area_t.coordinates = "tlat tlon"
         area_t.grid_mapping = "crs"
-        area_u = self.create_2d_nc_var(nc, "uarea")
+        area_u = self._create_2d_nc_var(nc, "uarea")
         area_u.units = "m^2"
         area_u.long_name = "Area of U cells."
         area_u.standard_name = "cell_area"
diff --git a/test/test_cice_grid.py b/test/test_cice_grid.py
index ed1f465..03eb137 100644
--- a/test/test_cice_grid.py
+++ b/test/test_cice_grid.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 _test_resolutions = [4, 0.1]
 
 
-# so that our fixtures are only create once in this pytest module, we need this special version of 'tmp_path'
+# so that our fixtures are only created once in this pytest module, we need this special version of 'tmp_path'
 @pytest.fixture(scope="module")
 def tmp_path(tmp_path_factory: pytest.TempdirFactory) -> Path:
     return tmp_path_factory.mktemp("temp")