Primary 4 Explores the Water of Leith

On Wednesday, the 19th of June, Primary 4s went to the Water of Leith. When we got there, we met a lady named Ruth who was our tour guide. Ruth showed us a map of the river and told us that the Water of Leith starts in the Pentlands and ends in Leith. She told us that the river gets bigger and bigger as it flows down. Then she split us into two groups- a problem solving part and a quiz part. For the quiz, you went around the interactive display and looked for answers to the questions to complete the quiz sheet!

The problem-solving area was really fun! One of them was trying to save the home from flowing water using Lego pieces which was fun. We also got to try and stop a turbine which was moving because of the force of some water going in a circle. It was so hard; none of us could do it! In the main room, there was lots of otter models which were really fun to look at!

Later, Ruth took us around the first bit of the Water of Leith and we loved learning about the things we saw on the way like run offs, the river and the pipes that cleaned the water! Next, we went into the river and looked for mini beasts to see if the water was clean or not. We used a net to do ‘river-dipping’. We did a tally of what we found and by the look of the creatures we found, the water was clean which was a good sign. Then we went back for lunch which was good but not as fun as looking at the water. After lunch, we went out again but did litter picking on the way. Then we went to a nice cosy area in the woods. Ruth told us that an artist called Andy Goldsworthy liked to come to the very exact spot where we stood to create ‘temporary’ art using outdoor materials. Then Ruth gave us a rope and asked us to use the rope as a frame and make art inside the rope with nature. So, we got into pairs and started working. Everyone made amazing artwork! We had a walk around to admire all the artwork. Then, sadly we knew that our trip had come to an end. It was an amazing trip to the Water of Leith!

Written by Odell-May and Aaliyah (P4)