The Big River Watch

This September is the first Big River Watch and we would love for the St Mary’s community to be part of it. In order to take part, download the Big River Watch App from your local App Store. Pick a riverside location to join others around the country in collecting data about the health of your local river. You can complete the survey at your favourite local spot, or choose to get to know somewhere new!

Visit between the 22nd and the 24th September 2023, and spend just 15 minutes observing and answering the questions on the survey. You can tell the app (and your teachers!) about the things that you see - from wildlife and plants, to the flow speed of the water and whether you can spot any pollution.

Rivers are suffering from sewage, plastic, chemical and nutrient pollution. To change this, we need to know where our rivers are having the problems and which problems are the most prevalent. The free and open Big River Watch survey is your chance to make a difference. Data gathered during Big River Watch can support policy change; helping turn the tide on plastics or stem the flow of untreated sewage. It also helps identify the best places for river clean-ups, or the creation of things like wetlands.

This is a hugely important topic and we would love to use this outdoor opportunity to inspire all areas of the curriculum. As a school, we would like for you to pick any number of your choice of the cross-curricular linked activities below and bring them into school to share with your class.

English – Create a poem about the flow of a river. You could include some references to things you have observed in the river

Maths – Represent the data you have collected from your river watch in the form of a graph. Alongside this, write some questions about the data and see if your other classmates can answer them!

Art – Using natural materials, create a piece of artwork which represent rivers and its surroundings.

PE – Can you do some outdoor exercise by a pond/river/lake/seaside this weekend? Think about how calming the water is. Your exercise could even be water related, perhaps a swim, a kayak or paddleboard?

PSHE – Think about the benefits of rivers and all areas of water that we have. Can you create an information leaflet to help inform others about how we can protect these and take care of these? You may even want to share this with your local MP or someone who could help spread awareness on this topic!

Science – Create a detailed diagram about a habitat you discovered by the riverside or in the river. Explain why you think this animal lives here and why it is important.

RE – Can you find examples in the Bible of stories which involved nature? Can you retell these stories in a different way – it could be through a storyboard, through an image or rewriting this in a modern way.

Be inspired – You may have a different idea about how you’d like to make a cross-curricular link. We would for you to share this with us!