Monitoring and protecting a river ecosystem near the school: a path to sustainability through field trips

The Agenda 2030, signed by United Nations Member States, set a plan to achieve 17 Goals in a 15-year time frame (from 2015 onwards) on three levels: global, local and people’s action. One of its targets (6.6.) is protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems, including rivers. Although rivers constitute complex ecosystems and require sustainable management, studies show that students have a simplified vision of rivers. Even textbooks represent rivers from a hydraulic (and not holistic) perspective. In Portugal, the Natural Sciences curriculum for the 8^th grade includes the organising theme “Sustainability on Earth”, implying the characterisation of an ecosystem surrounding the school from data collected in the field. “Projeto Rios” is an Iberian project which fosters the adoption of 500-meter sections of rivers or streams, promoting citizen science. As our school is located nearby “Rio Tinto” river, 20 students (13-16 years old), from an 8^th grade class, adopted a half-kilometre extent of their city’s river, with two main purposes: monitoring its state (in winter and spring) and cleaning the river ecosystem to protect its biodiversity. Following a field trip methodology, the project involved articulating with an Environmental Education County Centre and other subjects from the student’s curriculum.

In the first phase, students assessed their knowledge of the ecosystem concept of rivers and their sustainable management with a 9-question survey (based on Ladrera et al, 2020). In a second phase, established in groups of 3-4 elements, students investigated the river basin's geographic location, and degradation through time, due to pollution. In the next stage, students had lectures dynamized by technicians from the Environmental Education County Centre to establish the practical proceedings and logistic issues concerning the two field trips to be held (winter and spring). During the two mentioned field trips, students collected water samples, measured physical-chemical parameters, and characterised rivers’ biodiversity and geodiversity. The results were registered in a worksheet and an app survey (123 app survey). Positive student engagement obtained with this experience constituted an ignition to clean the riverbed and its banks during the third field trip. Students separated many kilograms of solid urban waste to be sent for recycling. Back in the classroom, students worked in groups for two weeks to analyse the data obtained and elaborate posters submitted to various feedback and exposed during the School Day Celebration. Those posters motivated the school community towards river conservation practices. Finally, students made a self/hetero assessment of their group work.

Overall, knowing real-world ecological issues right outside the classroom door raised students’ awareness about the importance of preserving local biodiversity and protecting the fragile balance of river ecosystems towards a sustainable future.

 

References

Ladrera, R.; Rodríguez-Lozano, P.; Verkaik, I.; Prat, N.; Díez, J.R. What Do Students Know about Rivers and Their Management? Analysis by Educational Stages and Territories. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8719. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208719