Higher Biology River Field Trip 2024
We were delighted to have Keilidh Ewan (Education officer) and her colleague Jamie from the River Dee Trust visit the school on the 13th June to talk to the Higher Biology pupils about their work in conserving the Rivers local to Alford.


Part of the higher curriculum focuses on understanding invasive species and using techniques to sample indicator species. The River Dee trust specialise in this and took time to work with pupils to complete sampling tasks on the River Don.
Keilidh completed a pre visit with both classes before facilitating a site visit on the 14th June where 38 pupils took part in a range of activities to support classroom learning.
The 2 main tasks completed are as follows:
- Kick Sampling & Biodiversity Scoring
The presence or absence of invertebrates in our watercourses can tell us a lot about the health of our river systems. Pupils had the opportunity to try kick sampling. Life jackets and nets were provided as well as trays and identification sheets at the riverbank. Pupils scored the diversity of invertebrates to see what they can tell us about the main stem of the River Don. We established that the water quality was high and many clean water indicator species were seen as well as catching smaller fishes.


2. Invasive Plant Identification & Recording
Many invasive non-native plants have found their way to the riverbanks of the Don. Following on from our learnings in class, pupils surveyed the riverbank in search of non-native species with identification sheets at hand. Where non-native species are found, the class will complete survey forms, including details such as quantity / patch size and location for submission to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative.
Himalayan Balsam has been found upriver of the Haughton Country Park which is at risk of spreading downstream, while non-native varieties of Butterbur are known to occur throughout the Park. We also found a new patch of giant hogweed which will now be officially reported as it can be dangerous to humans.

We are so grateful to have these opportunities to enhance the classroom environment for our students and help bring these topics into a real world context.