GroundTruth

GroundTruth recently had the amazing opportunity to bring citizen science knowledge into the classroom at Broadacres Academy Senior Prep!🏫
When we heard that the Grade 5s were learning about rivers, our Gauteng Office jumped at the opportunity to spend time with them. We got to introduce them to a few citizen science tools, including miniSASS, clarity tubes, and velocity planks 🦀💧📏

Although it was a classroom session, the learners were fully immersed in the experience. Together, we imagined standing in a flowing river, where we could measure flow velocity, explore river health, and let curiosity run wild🌿Nothing beats the real thing, but for this group of city kids it was science coming to life ✨

This kind of session is exactly the type of engagement, capacity building, environmental education, and citizen science upskilling that is at the core of GroundTruth's Advisory Services (one of 6 core Practice Areas, check them all out at https://www.groundtruth.co.za/what-we-do/). It was also an exciting exploration of the kind of work we are currently doing with UNESCO on citizen science curriculum development for Public Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) schools in South Africa📘 There is a real gap in our schools when it comes to environmental and river science education, making it such an important space to strengthen within the Natural Sciences curriculum. We need to make sure that future generations learn about water resilience and water security! 🌊

We are beyond excited for what lies ahead for our young learners and junior citizen scientists. Watch this space🚀