Water walk
Aim:
Find out more about water around us.
You will need:
Somewhere to go for a walk near a stream.
Duration:
1 hour
Before you leave have a chat with the group about water. What do we use it for? Where does our water come from? Can we drink sea water? Explain that 90% of the earth's surface is covered by water, but most of it is frozen and almost all of it is salty.
Take some bottles of water to drink as refreshment. Remind the group that we all need water in our bodies. When we are active we lose water from our bodies so it needs to be replaced.
Walk to a stream or river. Ask if anyone knows where the water has come from or where it is going. Explain that a stream 'flows' in one direction. It will normally join a bigger river and those rivers flow to the sea. Try dropping leaves or twigs into the stream, to demonstrate which way it is flowing. You could show a map to follow the route of the stream.
Ask the children if they think it is safe to drink this water. (Make sure you know the answer beforehand!) Explain that water is usually drinkable when it is fast flowing, and not far from its source (where it comes out of the ground). Chemicals and animal or human waste make water impure. Water is easily contaminated by people washing in it (the dirt and soap goes into the water), by people throwing things in it, or by animals using it further upstream.
When it rains, this water flows into the river and is carried away. We can also collect rainwater before it runs away. Ask if anyone has a water butt in their garden to collect rainwater.
On your return: Ask the children to tell you one thing they learnt about water during the walk. Ask: Did you know that 1 out of every 5 people in the world don't have safe water to drink? Do you think that is fair?