4. River Lea Education Resources

Themes: Community engagement and participation; Improving water quality and water quantity

Objectives:

  • Promote the river as a community and educational resource
  • Educate the general public and local businesses about its role in water quality and quantity improvements

Project description

A variety of projects are available for schools and other educational centres throughout Luton.

Junior River Wardens is an engagement project that will give local children and young people an appreciation of the dynamic nature of rivers, their function as an urban biodiversity hot spot and their benefit to the local population. 

Learning resources:

1. Book the Junior River Wardens fieldwork session where knowledgeable staff lead students to the river and give them the tools to investigate the physical and biological nature of the river.  Open to both schools and uniformed youth groups.

2. Book the Teacher Training CPD session after-hours and learn about the value of local fieldwork, data collection and outdoor learning. Open to all teachers and education leaders.

3. If you'd like to undertake a self-guided visit to the River Lea to bring the curriculum to life, download our guide to studying the River Lea in Luton.  The guide contains ideas for river fieldwork and locations where you can access the river. Please undertake your own site visit and risk assessment before visiting each site as rivers are dynamic and ever-changing systems.

We are keen to do more work with schools in Luton and the surrounding areas. If you'd like to find out more about what's possible and how your school can get involved, please get in touch.

Completed work:

  • Junior River Wardens previously ran from 2016 – 2019 and engaged 842 pupils and teachers from schools and uniformed youth groups in fieldwork at the river.
  • The Only Rain Down the Drain project ran in both 2015 and 2017 and helped over 294 pupils to understand how water reaches the river and how pollutants can damage their river system.
  • Teacher training sessions took place in 2016 and 2018 and engaged teachers from both primary and secondary schools in understanding the value of fieldwork at the river.
  • The RiverLUTiON project ran from 2017 – 2019 and trained local adults to monitor and report on the health of the River Lea in Luton and Houghton Regis.

 

Project lead: Groundwork Luton & Bedfordshire
Funding source: Thames Water Community Investment Fund
Contact for more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Design by LTD Design Consultants and build by Garganey Consulting.