Earlston Pupils Spearhead River Health Monitoring in Scottish Borders

In the wake of a summer marked by severe water scarcity across the Scottish Borders, pupils at Earlston Primary School have stepped up to help assess the health of the region's largest river system. The children have been collaborating with the Tweed Foundation, the organization responsible for protecting and improving the River Tweed and its salmon, sea trout, and other freshwater fish.

Throughout the summer months, the River Tweed and its tributaries faced record-high levels of water scarcity, prompting the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to impose restrictions on water extraction for businesses and farms. These restrictions were only lifted in the past week, following consecutive days of heavy rainfall.

Now, the Tweed Foundation is eager to engage young people in monitoring the river's condition. The foundation's education officer, Ben McCallum, took the Earlston students to the Leader Water, a tributary of the Tweed, where they had the opportunity to collect samples and record their findings. These observations will become part of the UK-wide Big River Watch, a citizen science survey that aims to gather a snapshot of river health across the country.

"When we can take part in things like the Big River Watch, it showcases to the children that there are people right across the country invested in caring for our rivers," said McCallum. The primary school pupils understand the importance of the river's health, with one student expressing, "We want the water to be clean so that the fish can swim into the River Tweed."

The data collected by the children will help track the effects of extreme weather on larger river systems, like the water scarcity faced by the region this summer. If the project's goal is to inspire the next generation to be stewards of the Tweed, it appears to be succeeding, with one pupil declaring, "This is the highlight of my day, maybe even my week."