]]
Publications
Griffith University and the Department of the Environment, Sport & Territories, 1997
Danie Schreuder
Stellenbosch University
South Africa
It is generally accepted that schools need to develop more 'real world' curricula in order to help students develop the necessary understanding of their environments. Only through understanding come action competencies, and can students be expected to become involved in improving their environments.
At the same time, one of the ideals of environmental education is to break through the barriers between school subjects and for teachers to co-operate in the development of 'real world' curricula.
River studies have been found ideal for both these purposes. Rivers reflect the communities living in the catchments; their actions, levels of awareness and care, and their needs. If students can be helped to interpret the 'language' of a river, much can be understood about how people live, and how their actions affect natural systems.
It should be noted that this project is a long-term and on-going project. The most successful of these is where river studies form an integral part of the curriculum of a specific grade; other environmental projects for other grades often stem from this approach.
The workshop seeks to enable participants to:
This activity serves to familiarise pupils with the river, and to illustrate the reasons why rivers are vitally important 'real world' starting points for environmental education.
This activity helps to guide the investigations of pupils by focusing on specific aspects of the river and the catchment.
A model is useful in communicating research findings and to display and introduce the project to the wider school community.
Pupils get the opportunity to engage in finding out, researching and asking questions
Pupils develop a more holistic picture of the interaction of people with the environment, and how they could contribute towards better management of the natural environment.
Resources
Resource 1: Common Symptoms of Degraded River Systems, with Possible Causes and Suggested Actions to Improve Conditions
Resource 2: Historical Research on a River
Resource 3: A Questionnaire on the Condition of the Catchment Area
Resource 4: Observation of the River
Resource 5: Biological Indications of River Quality
Activity 1: A local river or stream should be selected as the focus of the activity. A simple map should be prepared and the stream divided into sections for groups of pupils.
Activity 2: A brief background to the history of human settlement and use of the river should be prepared as an introduction to pupils.
GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network), 721 East Huron Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104, United States of America:
The Schools Water Project (SWAP), EEPUS, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, MATIELAND 7602, South Africa:
UMGENI WATER: External Education Service, P O Box 9, Pietermaritzburg 3200, South Africa:
Background and Discussion
Through observation and the use of tools to investigate we can understand more of what rivers can tell us. Human activities in the catchment are all reflected in the river. An investigation into the historical and geographical features of the river as well as a preliminary survey on litter and other signs of human interference, and river bank vegetation can be a good start.
Preliminary Investigation
For this purpose a section of the river within reasonable distance from the school, and where students can safely move about, should be selected. This section is roughly mapped on a worksheet and divided into smaller sections which can be assigned to the different groups.
Groups are assigned to find out about:
Introduction
This activity is designed to provide students the opportunity to realise why rivers are such important parts of natural and social systems, and how elementary research can contribute to a greater understanding of their key importance. It can also lead to a better understanding of how humans can adversely influence the environment, how these effects can be reflected in the quality of rivers.
A model or a chart of the area to be investigated could be a useful way of keeping a record of findings and also seasonal and other changes taking place in the catchment.
Using recycled or other cheap materials, a rigid base and suitable scale, a model of the river section can be constructed by each group based on the information that they have gathered during the first visit. Use old newspapers for machè, empty toilet rolls for drainage pipes, lollipop-sticks for construction of bridges, etc. Features such as position of shrubs and trees, height of the bank, seasonal flow and depth of the water, man-made structures, etc. should be indicated
This model could be kept at a central venue in a classroom or a school laboratory and used to display features uncovered by ongoing research projects.
Various aspects of the river and the catchment area could be researched on an ongoing basis by student groups.
These aspects should, when properly researched on a medium-term basis, generate sufficient data to give a holistic picture of the river and its catchment, and the communities living there. Students should be encouraged to investigate the causes of abnormalities and to plan some action towards the improvement of the environment (see Resource 1).
It might be wise to involve some other schools in the catchment to become involved in a similar project on another section of the catchment. Information gathered and shared among schools can serve to cover larger sections of the catchment, making the knowledge base much more useful. In this way students also learn about other communities and their needs and life-styles.
Experience has proved that a key aspect of river and catchment investigations is the co-operation of Local Authorities and the community. Local Authorities are usually quite open and co-operative, and might well support any efforts at improving the environment from the school and general communities. In a number of case studies Local Authorities have even supported these projects financially (transport, test materials, etc.)
The co-operation of teachers from a variety of school disciplines should be sought (the geography teacher for catchment studies, history teacher for historical aspects, the language teacher for interviews and writing letters, art teacher for building models, etc.) Regular networking with similar projects in other parts of the world are also critically important, as new ideas, materials and resources can be readily accessed.
Research topics could include the following aspects of the river and catchment:
For activities investigating biological and chemical indicators, some specialised equipment is required. Low-cost test kits and a variety of other resources have been developed and are readily available. Refer to the list of Resources, Publications and Useful Contacts.
Resources 2-5 could serve as guidelines for structuring these investigations. Students should be encouraged to keep careful records of all observations; where possible, these should be plotted on the model or chart of the river. Regular and efficient displays of the progress of the investigations should be encouraged in order to stimulate wider involvement among the rest of the students and staff members.
Only when the results of the investigations are properly interpreted, can strategies for taking action be planned. This is the ultimate aim of a project of this nature. Many similar projects are not achieving their potential, as teachers and students regard their tasks as completed after the investigations are over.
Interpreting results may be demanding, but the resourceful teacher will find ways and resources to assist in this task. Due to the tremendous diversity of situations in catchments, a universal recipe for interpreting these results is not feasible. Resource 1 lists some of the typical symptoms identified by students in similar projects, their possible causes and some of the actions that could be taken to improve conditions.
|
|
|
|
|
Turbidity of water is high; contains high percentage of soil particles |
Erosion problems in catchment; overgrazing, bad agricultural practices, lack of suitable plant cover |
Revegetation; visits/talks/friendly letters to farmers/local authorities |
|
Stream choked by algae/other plant growth |
High content of dissolved nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates due to household waste or agricultural runoff |
Obtain information from authorities; look out for household waste water that lands in river |
|
High content of organic particles; water smelly; low dissolved oxygen content |
Dead plant or animal material being dumped; lack of proper sanitation in catchment |
Study of communities and report-back; letters/interviews with local authorities |
|
pH (alkalinity/acidity) of the water abnormal (too low, too high) |
Industrial waste being pumped into the river |
Letters to suspect factories or industries |
|
Littering on banks and in the stream |
Uncaring public; poverty and other socio-economic problems |
Cleanup campaigns involving the community; poster campaigns; create recreation areas/trails on river banks |
|
Badly eroded river banks |
Lack of suitable plant cover |
Planting of indigenous shrubs or trees obtained from local nurseries/authorities |
|
Flow obstructed |
Trees fallen; debris accumulated; weirs built |
Cleanups; revegetation; removal of obstructions |
Name of person interviewed:
Address:
Phone:
Date of Interview:
Question:
Answer:
Question
Answer:
This interview was conducted by:
Glue in a photograph or a drawing of the person you interviewed
See if you can answer these questions:
1. Who lives in the catchment area? Write down all the different types of communities, e.g. farmers, squatters, city-dwellers.
2. What do they do? How do they use their soil or land?
3. How far away from the river do the humans live, farm, etc.?
4. What is the condition of the bank vegetation (plants)?
5. Are there rubbish dumps in the catchment area? How close are they to the river?
6. Have farming, housing and recreational (e.g. sport, picnics, camping, etc.) activities changed the vegetation?
7. What is the condition of the wetlands surrounding the river? Have they been filled in or polluted in any way?
8. Are there any other observations you can make? Is there anything unusual or different you want to record?
9. Discuss the following questions with the other members of your group:
(a) Would you say that the catchment area has changed over the years? Yes/ No/ Don't know
(You can talk to older members of your community about this.)
(b) Is clean water released throughout the year by the wetlands? Yes/ No/ Don't know
(c) Is the vegetation on the river banks sufficient to protect against flooding? Yes/ No/ Don't know
(d) Is the river polluted? Can it supply clean water for humans and animals? Yes/ No/ Don't know
1. What does the riverbed look like? (bottom and sides of the river)
Circle the things that you see on the riverbed and banks:
Mud / Silt / Sand / Small stones / Big stones / Rocks / Concrete
2. How deep is the water in the river? Estimate and circle the right answer:
0-10cm / 10-25cm / 25-50cm / deeper than 50cm
3. How broad is the river? Estimate: _______________________________ metres.
4. How fast does the water flow?
Throw a leaf into the water and measure how long it takes to move 5 metres. Circle the right answer:
The leaf took:
less than 5 seconds (very fast) / 5-10 seconds (fast) / 10-15 seconds (slowly) / more than 15 seconds (very slowly)
5. Which of these things do you see? Circle and fill in:
(a) Refuse material (rubbish): plastic / paper / glass / tins / boxes
Any other
(b) Sewage or animal excretions: cloudy / grey / slime / green slime
(c) Industrial waste/effluent: oil / foam / silt
(d) Dead animals: dogs / cats / fish / birds / frogs / cattle
(e) Soil erosion: muddy water
(f) What else do you see? Write down any other unnatural or unusual natural materials that you can see.
6. A simple test to find out the health risk of water from our river
(a) Fill a glass with river water. Do not drink the water however clean it looks!
(b) Look at the colour, and smell the water
(c) Do you think the water is suitable for people or animals to drink? Circle your answer:
Definitely not / Maybe not / Smells clean/looks clean
(d) Why do you say so? What did you observe?
7. Discuss your observations in your group:
(a) Do you think it is safe for people and animals to drink this water? Yes / No / Don't know
(b) Is the river polluted and degraded (in a bad condition) ? Yes / No / Don't know
Pick up 5-10 big stones in the middle of the stream. Brush off all the little animals that are on the bottom of the rock with a brush.
Invertebrates are also found in mud and sand. Use your stick to scratch around and a net to scoop up the creatures you unearth.
Remember to cause as little damage as possible. Put back all rocks in their original position. After you have counted and identified the life you find, return them to the place you found them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Have you found any other organisms? Draw them in the space below and you can perhaps identify them later. Use a magnifying glass if you need to.
How many different types of animals/organisms did you find in total?
This tells you about the diversity (different types) of animal/insect life in the river.
Remember to return all the creatures exactly where you found them.
Do not drink the water even if the results look good. There might be other types of pollution in the water.
TSW Home
Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Module 5
Module 6 | Module 7 | Module 8 | Module 9 | Module 10
Module 11 | Module 12 | Module 13 | Module 14 | Module 15
Module 16 | Module 17 | Module 18 | Module 19 | Module 20
Module 21 | Module 22 | Module 23 | Module 24 | Module 25 | Module 26
