Tag Archives: River Irk

River Irk – Year 6 science/geography visit

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We are very lucky to have the beautiful River Irk right on our doorstep! Year 6 visited this morning and even though the weather was not on our side, the children had an interesting time with Mr. de Boer. He showed us how to check the health of the water by measuring the levels of minerals and metals. The children could also check how healthy the water in the River Irk is by looking at which creatures are present in the water. A lot of Himalayan Balsam grows here too and is a problem for the indigenous plants, so we did some ‘balsam bashing’ while we were there.

Year 6 River Irk science trip with Groundwork UK and The Mersey Rivers Trust

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The children in 6P spent an absolutely wonderful morning with some staff from Groundwork UK and The Mersey Rivers Trust. As a school, we are so lucky to have Blackley Forest and the River Irk right on our doorstep. We were able to spend the morning exploring the area and the animals that inhabit it, learning about how rivers shape our landscape and how to work out how fast or slow the river water flows.

The children were shown how to collect insect samples from the water, to analyse what kind of creatures they are – and to have a good look at them through a magnifying glass. Interestingly, the diverse range of creatures found in the water indicates how ‘healthy’ the river is. The brilliant Mersey River Trust were happy to share the good news with us that the River Irk has hugely improved in cleanliness over the last few years, which is lovely to hear!

The children learnt all about animals who live in the forest and took part in a scavenger hunt.

They then learnt all about the flow of rivers and the geographical terms used, then tested the water flow speed with a version of ‘Pooh Sticks’. Using wooden blocks, the children calculated average flow speed and learnt about currents.

We’re very grateful for Groundwork UK and The Mersey Rivers Trust for such a fun and educational morning.

Geography lesson with 6P

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We had a treat today.

We had the pleasure of Mr. de Boer joining us today with some exciting activities he’d planned for us.

Firstly we took part in a quiz, we explored around the school grounds, we map read and finally we learnt all about river pollution.

River pollution occurs when waste from various sources, such as agriculture or industry, enters the waterways. The children were able to identify on maps the possible causes of pollution to the River Irk, which runs right behind our school. We are so lucky to have this on our doorstep to be able to study and explore!

The children made their own mini rivers in an experiment to show how easily polluted our waterways are. Then we used special testing strips to test the water from the River Irk to try and identify if it is polluted or not. I’m happy to report that it appears to be pretty clean!

The children then enjoyed an explore in Narnia with a trip up the stream, which was extremely fun!

Creating our own rivers.
We used sand to illustrate where the polluted areas would be.
Testing the water – such as PH and mineral levels.
Comparing the testing strip with the colour coded key.
Exploring the stream in Narnia.