“Let’s see what we can find under these rocks!?”

“WOW, what are they – they look like prawns??”

“They are called Gammarus and indicate the river is healthy. Put it back carefully now. Let’s see what else we can find with our net!”

“I caught a fish, I caught a fish!”

“That’s a stickleback. Shall we take it back to the pond?”

“Why’s the estuary so green in the summer?”

“Great question – let’s investigate!”

…

“So, have you built a picture of what is happening?”

“I have! I took water samples at various locations, I monitored the water for a suite of parameters, I analysed the water in the lab, I interrogated the data, I visualised the data and have discussed my ideas!”

Time may have moved on – but my passion and enthusiasm for understanding what is going on in streams and rivers remains. That is why I work for WRT.