Untreated sewage made it unsafe for year 4 children to go into the water as planned on a recent school river trip with the charity ARK,
After heavy rain the sewage was allowed to be discharged straight into the river just upstream of their beautiful location in Axford.
The children were mystified this was permitted and thought it was unacceptable. It led to lots of discussion about how we've reached this point, what the current alternative is and what what different solutions could be.
The class wrote individual letters to their local MP Danny Kruger, who went into school to answer some of Year 4's questions.
The children shared with Danny all that they are doing to help their river, including working with ARK to reduce rainwater entering the combined sewer network through creation of a new school rain garden.
Danny told the class he was proud and impressed with their commitment to all that they are doing to try and make sure government and Thames Water do their jobs better, as well as what the class and school are doing themselves.
Raising awareness of river pollution
The children's campaign to raise awareness lead to widespread coverage including on the BBC and ITV Meridian news. You can read the BBC story about the river trip here, and the MP visit here.
The Great Green Bedwyn rain gardens project is part of the solution.
This project is working with the school, surgery, and individual homeowners to create rain gardens to slow down water entering the sewage system.
This helps to prevent the sewage works becoming overwhelmed and untreated sewage being discharged into the river.
Find out more about the project and how you can get involved here.