Project Summary

Trout at Transition was a Clyde River Foundation project which involved every P7 pupil in the Biggar High School learning community in 2012/13 and continued to provide access to specialist freshwater biologists for staff and pupils following their transition to S1.  This hands-on project used the life history of the brown trout to promote children’s awareness of river ecology; introduced them first-hand to the biodiversity and health of their local river, and facilitated the reporting of their findings on riverbank displays.  The S1 component allowed each pupil to contribute to a year-wide group of scientific studies which characterised and interpreted some of the features of the Clydesdale rivers in collaboration with Biggar High School staff, and culminated in a public art installation in Biggar.

Clyde River Foundation

The Clyde River Foundation is a Scottish charity (SC 029602) dedicated to research and education throughout the River Clyde catchment. The Foundation consists of five scientists and our mission is to pursue scientific understanding of the ecological health of the River Clyde and its tributaries, drive environmental improvements and build capacity for its stewardship.

Find out more about the Clyde River Foundation here.

Holly Keasey

Holly Keasey is an artist whose work explores how engaged artistic practice can act as a durational enquiry towards ecological sensibilities and living. Holly’s ecological focus is on water: personally, socially and environmentally.

Find out more about Holly’s work here.

 

“Trout and Transition was a brilliant opportunity for myself. As an emerging artist with a particular interest in water ecology, it was great to work with the scientists of the Clyde River Foundation. It gave me the opportunity to learn first-hand about aspects of the Clyde and water quality testing that I would not usually have access to as an artist. This has and will continue to influence my practice in the future, with the hope of continuing to seek further art and science collaborations. Additionally, the project allowed me to fully realise a large scale engagement project which has been beneficial to developing new skills in project management and how to develop workshops that are suitable for ranging age-groups, class sizes and the individual student to be creative whilst also producing small artworks that can be presented collectively.” – Holly Keasey

Project Outline

Trout in Transition was split into three sequential parts, each of which built upon the learning outcomes of the preceding session.

Brown trout hatchery (“Clyde in the Classroom”)

Pupils visited the Glasgow Science Centre for the project launch day, where they participated in two interactive presentations and have a chance to explore the Science Mall

Pupils raised brown trout in their classroom hatchery between January and March 2013 and released the fish into their local river or burn before Easter 2013.

Pupils documented the ongoing project in collaboration with Clyde River Foundation scientists and visiting artist Holly Keasey.

 

Meet Your River

Morning Field Trip – pupils visited their river and were shown some of the methods used by scientists to assess its health.  Fish surveying by electrofishing was demonstrated before the pupils got into the river to sample the invertebrates by kick sampling.  Pupils also participated in a riverside art workshop as ‘Water Tourists’ with Holly Keasey.

Afternoon classroom session – pupils examined their kick sample and derived a simple “health score” which they used to see how healthy their river was.  The children were encouraged to demonstrate their knowledge of the ecology of the fish and invertebrates and how they interact by creating a poster of their findings. Using materials collected on the riverbank, pupils produced artwork reflecting their perceptions of their local river.

 

Biggar High School

• This session was broken across several of the S1 science classes in April/May 2014. 
• There was two 50-minute classroom-based lessons and one half-day field trip per class; these activities compared and contrasted three local landscapes and their rivers by studying overlapping themes (eg. biodiversity and how it was affected by geomorphology, pollution effects, and land use/physical alteration) and provided access to scientific specialists for both the teachers and the pupils.
• It was anticipated that there would be a piece of public art associated with the completion of this stage of the project.  The content of the “Transition Project” was developed in collaboration with Mrs Galloway and the staff at Biggar High School.