Samantha:
Hello Dr Rogers, can we speak to you for a moment?
Dr. Rogers:
Oh, hello Samantha.
Dr. Rogers:
Yes, I'm free.
Dr. Rogers:
What can I do for you?
Eric:
It was about our geography field trip.
Eric:
We wanted to explain to you a little about it, so that we know that we're doing the right thing.
Dr. Rogers:
Okay, off you go.
Samantha:
Well, to begin with, we decided our field trip will focus on the river Stour.
Samantha:
The river is not far from where we both live, so that will help us when we need to do secondary visits to it.
Dr. Rogers:
Yes, that'll be useful.
Dr. Rogers:
It's sometimes only later on during a project that people realise they need further data and a long journey can sometimes be very awkward to arrange.
Eric:
That's what we thought.
Dr. Rogers:
Well, I'm glad you're taking those things into account.
Dr. Rogers:
Now you'll need to go right up to the source of the river to get the correct readings.
Eric:
Oh yes, we'll begin there.
Eric:
We'll be doing a road trip for a few days to collect all the information we need.
Dr. Rogers:
What sorts of things will you be studying at the river?
Samantha:
We'll be looking at how the river Stour is part of the area's different watersheds.
Dr. Rogers:
What sort of data will you be collecting?
Eric:
We'll be taking water samples along the length of the river to start with.
Eric:
We'll also need data on flow levels, but of course we won't be able to get good figures on that in one trip.
Eric:
Samantha and I are going to visit the National River Authority's offices in Stourbridge.
Eric:
They have all the data there that we need.
Dr. Rogers:
Have you got an appointment with them?
Samantha:
Yes, one of the water officers will be meeting us and will give us admittance to the archives that we need.
Samantha:
The people at the National River Authority were very helpful when I called them.
Dr. Rogers:
Now, you'll also need more data than what you've mentioned so far if you want to examine the area's watersheds.
Eric:
Watersheds themselves consist of all surface water and include lakes, streams, reservoirs and wetlands, as well as all groundwater and aquifers.
Eric:
We'll need to work on all these water systems in the area.
Eric:
We won't be able to include everything in our project as the word limit is relatively short.
Eric:
Our plan is to include a bit of everything, but focus on the role of the River Stour in the area's watersheds.
Dr. Rogers:
That all sounds fine.
Samantha:
I also wanted to ask about when we have to give in the project.
Dr. Rogers:
Well, last year the students had to give it in on the 1st of October.
Dr. Rogers:
A lot of students found that they didn't have enough time though, so I was thinking of making it exactly a month later.
Dr. Rogers:
However, I'm not really sure yet.
Dr. Rogers:
You've plenty of time right now, so just keep an eye on the Department website and I'll post the due date when I'm sure.
Eric:
And what is the exact word limit?
Dr. Rogers:
There's a 5,000 word limit, but don't forget you need to include appendices with any background detail that you need to provide.
Dr. Rogers:
I will also require an annotated bibliography with all of the sources that you used.
Dr. Rogers:
Now these latter two things aren't included in your word limit, but you need to be aware that this is quite a lot of extra material that needs to be included in your projects.
Samantha:
Is there any equipment that you could recommend we take, Dr. Rogers?
Dr. Rogers:
Of course, there are lots of things that you'd find useful.
Dr. Rogers:
You'll need a water chemistry test kit, turbidity tubes, TDS probes, nets, hip waders, compasses, stopwatches and a field guide of that area.
Dr. Rogers:
Although you can buy all these things online, you might as well sign them out from the Department for nothing.
Dr. Rogers:
There's a returnable deposit, but it's not too excessive.
Eric:
That's very handy advice, Dr. Rogers.
Dr. Rogers:
What I must also remind you about is to take security precautions.
Dr. Rogers:
I know that you are all quite responsible, but being around water can always have potential dangers and you must take particular care if there's been a lot of rain and the river is high.
Dr. Rogers:
First of all, stay together.
Dr. Rogers:
If one of you falls in or gets into difficulties, then the other immediately knows about it and can do something.
Dr. Rogers:
The other major thing to take care about is washing your hands after being in contact with the water.
Dr. Rogers:
River water is not as clean as it used to be, and if you come into contact with river water and then eat without washing your hands, you run the risk of ingesting bacteria.
Dr. Rogers:
This can lead to all sorts of tummy upsets.
