Greener Greenock
Greener Greenock – a bespoke project aimed at Primary 4-7 children in the Carts Burn catchment area of Greenock. Greener Greenock will provide pupils with a hands-on introduction to their local river and its surrounding riverbank. Children were encouraged to think about the quality of their local environment, its relationship with the quality of their own lives and how they can help to conserve and improve it. The project, delivered by the Clyde River Foundation and supported by the ScotRail Foundation managed by Foundation Scotland, and The Craignish Trust, consisted of an informative and fun-filled day and involved primary 5 and primary 6s from each of four Primary Schools (St Patrick’s, Aileymill, All Saints and King’s Oak). It is hoped that Greener Greenock has inspired pupils to develop a long-term interest in their local river and promoted a sense of environmental responsibility.
Greener Greenock Project – Spring 2015
Morning excursion – Pupils visited their local river either on foot or using the local ScotRail service and were introduced to the methods that biologists use to measure the river health and participated in a range of riverside workshops. The morning included:
- Fish surveying demonstration and identification
- Kick sampling for collection of freshwater invertebrates
- Invasive non-native species identification
- Litter picking
Afternoon activities – Pupils returned to the school with the invertebrates collected in their kick samples and participated in the following activities:
- Invertebrate identification
- Invertebrate scoring for water quality assessment
- In-catchment pollution assessment
- “Caddis” fly tying
- Poster Production
On completion of the project each school received a custom made poster of their Greener Greenock day!
Thank you to all our sponsors for their generous contributions: The Craignish Trust and the ScotRail Foundation managed by Foundation Scotland. Thank you to Inverclyde Council for collecting the rubbish picked up by the children on each day.
