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Have you ever wondered what tiny creatures call our rivers home? This month, junior high school students in De Waaville (Heidelberg) and Olyfkrans (Swellendam) explored this fascinating question while learning about freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems are vital for sustaining life on Earth, providing drinking water and habitats for countless species, and rivers play a critical role in maintaining this balance. Educating young people about the health of these ecosystems fosters a sense of responsibility and empowers them to take action.  Our team collecting samples from Duiwenhoks river At both schools, we were able to do a mini-SASS using samples collected from Koringlands River in Swellendam and Duiwenhoks in Heidelberg. The samples were collected in upstream and downstream locations to illustrate how human habitation can impact our river health.  Twakkie, nursery manager, transferring them onto white trays for students to analyze. A SASS (South African Scoring System) is a tool used by scientists to monitor river health by identifying benthic macroinvertebrates, small aquatic animals that live in riverbeds. Each species is assigned a score, with more environmentally sensitive species having higher scores. These scores are then averaged, with higher averages signalling a better overall river health. The GVB conservancy does SASS at various river locations twice a year to understand the river ecosystem health in the region. It is important for us at the conservancy to identify ways to work with the community to keep our rivers healthy. This includes doing mini-SASS sessions with students living around many of the rivers we sample. While standard SASS requires specialised training, the simplified mini-SASS makes this process accessible to citizens, especially school-aged children. Much of the methods for sample collection and score production is simplified, while also maintaining a comparable overall standard of assessment. This makes mini-SASS ideal for our environmental education days. Some students from Olyfkrans had the opportunity to watch how samples were collected. A GVB conservancy member went into the river with waders and a net. We placed the net on the bed of the river and began kicking the rocks below. Additionally, we made sure to sample on gravel riverbed and near spots of the river with vegetation. Samples are placed in a white tray containing freshwater from the river, and students are given info sheets to help identify the species within the tray. Although the species within the tray are visible to the naked eye, students were also given a hand lens and magnifying glass to look for distinct features to help with identification. Students from both schools were eager and excited to identify the macroinvertebrate species. Many species look similar, so students also had a poster that illustrated the different species to help draw conclusions. The posters were then donated to the schools with big thanks to Christian Fry, whose incredible book A Field Guide to Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of South Africa is an amazing resource for freshwater macroinvertebrate identification.  Olyfkrans students holding up poster gifted to them :) We love to see our students engage in discussion about what they are seeing! After calculating the scores for river health, students were given an opportunity to brainstorm ways they could help improve river health, including limiting their own pollution. Many of them stated the importance of planting indigenous plant species in their home gardens, especially if they live near a river. Indigenous plant species near a river can help improve water quality, limit erosion, and help reduce the risk of floods. Students from Olyfkrans also had the opportunity to put what they learned into practice by planting indigenous trees on their school grounds. They demonstrated a great deal of care with the trees they planted. Way to go, guys! These environmental education days remind us of the power of young minds to inspire change. We can’t wait to continue fostering this enthusiasm in future projects and encourage everyone to take small steps—like planting a tree or reducing pollution—it all adds up to healthier rivers and ecosystems for all. A big thank you to Table Mountain Fund for funding this work and to the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve who are our project partners.
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AuthorGVB Conservancy Staff Archives
May 2025
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