Author:
Alice Fallon
We had a fantastic time kicking off our first Water Wisdom Workshops, which are running for families throughout the school holidays. Our brilliant team of learning officers led activities by the river Severn in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.
Stuart started with an exploration of the incredible water cycle to help us understand how we get water and why it’s so important. Hayley set us a challenge to build our own rivers and make ‘leaky dams’ just like Severn Rivers Trust when we use natural processes to stop flooding. Children created their own mini-water cycle, decorating a pot and planting seeds to take home – a perfect river friendly addition for the garden or windowsill.
We used real survey techniques to hunt for minibeasts. We put them into specimen pots and Caroline showed us how to categorise them – the snails were our favourite! Hayley helped us get creative, recycling household items and scavenging for natural materials to build our own bug hotels – mini habitats which families could take home to help their local wildlife.
Caroline told us a story all about the amazing fish of the rivers, and the work that Severn Rivers Trust are doing to help them on their migration journeys. We had a go at being scientists – learning how to collect samples from the river, and looking closely to identify lots of different creatures living in the water. Laura showed us how to make our own caddisfly larvae out of clay and we collected natural items to turn into insect cases – just like real caddisfly.
We are excited about returning to the river through the summer holidays to run these workshops again. Why not come and join us?
Activities are free of charge, but booking is essential. For more information, dates and booking instructions please follow this link. For any queries, please contact admin@severnriverstrust.com
We are delighted to be running these activities thanks to an exciting collaboration with Suntory Beverage & Food Great Britain & Ireland (SBF GB&I) - owner of Lucozade and Ribena. The summer of Water Wisdom workshops marks the launch of Suntory’s water education programme in the UK. Known as the ‘Mizuiku’ programme in Japan, "mizu" means water, and "iku" means education in Japanese, and reflects the importance of learning about and caring for water.
