UNEARTHING THE UNEXPECTED: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDENTS LOOK AT HOW NATURAL RESOURCES SHAPE OUR ENVIRONMENT
20.12.2024Students undertaking A Level Environmental Science at HNC recently enjoyed an interactive and immersive day at the National Coal Mining Museum. As part of the day, the group dug into the history of coal mining, and the impact upon the environment of humans using this natural resource in their daily lives.
Guided by a former coal miner, the group started the day with an underground tour of disused coal mine, where they explored coal mining through the ages, from the early 1800s all the way to the last mine that closed in 2015. As part of this, they crawled through spaces the miners worked in, and held equipment they would have used to mine coal.
In the afternoon they put their Environmental Science knowledge into action as part of a water treatment workshop, exploring how water from the mineshaft would need to be treated before being pumped in the environment. This was led by a professional Environmental Scientist, specialising in water quality. As part of this, students took readings from the stages of each treatment process, starting with the freshly pumped water from the mine, then the first treatment at the balancing pond, then the two natural reed beds, before taking a final sample at the river outlet to see how clean the water had become through this process. At each stage, the group tested the iron content and the PH levels to look at how safe the water was, and discussed the potential impact it would have on the local environment. You can view a gallery of pictures from the day below.
Emma Reeves, Teacher of Environmental Science comments: “A Level Environmental Science is all about exploring the impact of humanity on our planet. The mining and use of coal is a genuine example of how mankind has used natural resources in a way that has damaged our planet; our students were able to actively explore how science helped us to reduce this impact by ensuring that water from the mines was made safer through a process of filtering and testing. In the morning, we were guided by a former miner, and our students were genuinely fascinated to hear more about what ‘life down the pits’ was really like!”
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