River Study at Outdoor Elements
Experience a fun, hands-on activity that blends exploration and learning – perfect for KS2
Practical experiential learning
Our River Study activity consists of different elements that combine to give a complete understanding of Rivers and the habitat they provide. The content can be tailored to your group and include all or part of the full river study programme. Printed recording sheets are used to collect data from the study, and these can be used to follow up on the practical learning back in the classroom.
Why try a River Study?
- Fun! Practical experiential learning and adventure
- Tailored to your group
- Lots of curriculum-linked learning
- Safe and Supervised: Our River Study sessions take place on our private stream within the beautiful woodland and are led by experienced and knowledgeable instructors
What to Expect from a River Study
A River Study at Outdoor Elements can include:
- Kick sampling with nets to discover life living in the stream. Working in small groups, the children will learn how to carry out a kick sample to collect aquatic life. Identification charts will be used to identify the wide range of invertebrates present in the water. We will then use this information to consider these as indicators of water quality to decide on how healthy the stream is. Life within the stream will also be explored within the wider context of the food chain and its place within ecosystems.
- Measure the speed of the current using floats and stopwatches on a measured track. The group will select a suitable part of the river and measure their track before recording the time taken for a float to reach the finish line. The experiment will be repeated a number of times in order to be able to work out an average speed. This process can be repeated at different points along the river to show how the shape of the river can affect the speed of the current. We will discover where the river is fast or slow and what effect this has on the shape of the river. Erosion and Deposition.
- Using measuring equipment to record the depth on a cross-section of the river. This data can be used for working out the cross-sectional wetted area of the river and further to measure the discharge of the river. Combined with the speed data, we can also estimate the rate of discharge.
- Welly Walk. This part of the study is literally an immersive experience to discover how the river flows from its source towards the sea. The children will see for real the morphology of the river and be able to identify features such as tributaries, waterfalls, eddies, erosion and deposition.
A minimum of 3 hours is required to cover the subject in full detail. The level of detail can be pitched according to the age group and each element of the river study programme completed.
Add a River Study to your next visit!
A River Study is an exciting addition to:
- Outdoor Education visits for KS1 and KS2
- Our Great Outdoors programme
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Start Your Adventure
Every activity session is led by one of our experienced instructors and is reserved exclusively for your group. Please note that there is a minimum charge for 10 participants, and all events must be booked in advance. Simply fill out the enquiry form below, and we’ll walk you through our straightforward booking process.
