At the Mouth of the River

The mouth of the River Lliw is near Loughor on the Loughor Estuary in South Wales. Its width is obviously significantly greater here than at its source and as a consequence, the children of Felindre Primary School could only estimate the width and the depth.

The flow rate of the river could still be measured and this was done by throwing a piece of orange peel into the water and timing it between two points on the river bank. This and much more information will be included in the teaching and learning resource that I will be helping to produce as a part of the Clear Streams project managed by Swansea’s Countryside Connections team.

Measuring the flow

River Lliw at Loughor Estuary

Mouth of River Lliw

The Width and the Depth

The route of the River Lliw, from its source in the hills (see other posts this week) to its mouth in the Loughor Estuary, passes through Gorseinon. Here the children from Felindre Primary School are measuring the depth and width of the river as part of the Clear Streams project.

In time they and other schools will be involved in the project, will be making further investigations into the environment of the river from mouth to source to help develop understanding of the benefits of keeping our rivers and streams clean.

Clear Streams

River Lliw at Gorseinon

Light on Water

It is worth keeping our rivers and streams clean if only for the beautiful effects of sunlight falling on clear water.

The reasoning for the Clear Streams project goes much further than that of course. However, it is still important in my mind, that those taking part in the project appreciate these visual aspects as well as developing their understanding of the environmental aspects.

The orange in the second image was not left in the River Lliw. It was being used as a device for measuring the rate of flow of the river at this second stage through Felindre on its way to the river mouth at Loughor.

Light on Water

Orange in Water

Looking for the Source

The source of the River Lliw is situated up in the hills of the Mawr ward in Swansea, South Wales.

The Clear Streams project being managed by Swansea’s Countryside Connections Team helps people to better understand the responsibility we have towards maintaining the cleanliness of rivers and what we can do maintain them. The project, which I am documenting, is taking school children from four primary schools out to explore the River Lliw from source to mouth. The aim for my part in the project, is to produce a teaching and learning resource for future use by schools and communities.

The scenery at the source is beautiful and so, when the weather is dry, it is a very pleasant work place. The source of the river is not a spring but a point on the hills into which the water of the surrounding slopes drains.

Clear Streams Project

Clear Streams