Year 4 Celebrate World Environment Day

To mark World Environment Day, our Year 4 pupils became environmental scientists, exploring the important issue of water pollution through a hands on investigation. Using water and pepper to represent harmful pollutants, the children observed how contamination can quickly spread through aquatic habitats and impact sea life.

Working collaboratively, the pupils designed and built their own filtration systems using everyday materials such as paper towels, sponges and cotton wool. They then tested and compared the effectiveness of each design, discussing which methods worked best and why.

This science activity encouraged the children to think critically about the challenges of protecting our environment and highlighted the importance of preventing pollution before it reaches our ecosystems. It was a fantastic opportunity for our young learners to develop their scientific enquiry skills while reflecting on how we can all play a part in caring for our planet. Do enjoy reading some of their reflections below:

“I was shocked to find out that every day thousands of our wildlife die due to pollution. Also our rivers were once clear, now 73% are not clean” Olivia 4CA

“World Environment Day has inspired me to clean and look after the world. We should be mindful of what we put into the sea, even down our drains.” Rise 4CA

“On Science day we got a bowl of water and tipper pepper into the bowl and this represented microplastics in the sea. First we tried to get it out by using cotton pads and then we tried using sponges and paper but nothing worked! This showed us that microplastic is very hard to get out of our seas and rivers and it is almost impossible for us to get rid of it completely. The microplastic is especially harmful because it looks like plankton and the fish end up eating it! We need to stop using plastic so the microplastics don’t go into the sea and harm the animals. ” Bea 4MH

“We should care about the environment. Stop cutting down trees, reduce transport, don’t use harmful chemicals so that the environment can be safe. We should try using different materials that don’t harm the Earth.” Daniel 4MY

“We should water plants more and use less petrol. We should walk instead of using cars. This will reduce the amount of pollution there is.” Thea 4MY