Photographs were taken of the Never Never River in Gleniffer, of pollution found within the river. Multiple points along the river were visited and photographed, ranging from areas that contain harmful pollution to areas with none at all to show any difference between the health of the areas. These images were used to show the impacts of pollution and the aftermath of sites that have experienced pollution over time. The photos were taken on an iPhone, camera and a GoPro to make for clear images and accessible uploads to this website. The use of images found online will also provide sources of data that may be inaccessible to us whilst we are there as well as different images taken at different times of the year showing seasonal changes. If any photos necessary for the investigation contain people, houses or personal details of an individual we gained consent of the individual before uploading the image to remain ethical in our research.
Primary & secondary data - Equipment: iPhone, camera, GoPro
A survey/questionnaire was sent out via both email and social media as a way to gain multiple sources of different audiences and target different views and opinions. The survey asked questions based around pollution, population, and any required change to occur for the Never Never River to be sustainably healthy. This survey allowed for this investigation to gain insight into the opinions and views of locals as well as members of Bellingen shire council and visiting tourists of Gleniffer. This wide reach of views helped shape our research findings and help us understand and see the reasons for the pollution occurring within the Never Never River as well as providing us with solutions to help recover and fix any existing issues. The surveys did not collect emails and providing names was optional to protect people's confidentiality if they so choose. The survey is purely based on people's opinions and personal knowledge of the area of discussion, so we are relying on the partakers of the survey to remain honest to provide for the most accurate results.
Primary research - Equipment: google forms, email & social media for distribution
Both Timmy and Imogen split up and travelled in opposite directions up and down the river to count aquatic life and count and collect rubbish or other forms of pollution. A tally of the items seen/collected has been made as well as the type of item listed (e.g. food wrapper or turtle). By covering lots of ground and splitting up we gained further insight into the occurrences of pollution and its effects on the aquatic life within the river. To ensure ethical practices whilst doing these tasks we did not interfere with any animal or plant life and did not leave anything behind that may have caused them harm. We attempted to photograph any items we collected for further validity as well as providing evidence for our primary photograph data. We counted up and down the river between thirty minutes to an hour, three times total across separate days to ensure we had the most reliable results and conclusions. We wanted to do these counts to see the real amount of pollution at Gleniffer and see if any effects are occurring on the aquatic life within the river further supporting our aims.
Primary data - Equipment: form of note taking device (iPhone, notepad, etc...), camera or iPhone for photos, form of rubbish disposal (bag, box, bin, etc...)
The water and soil test kits were used in the Never Never River to find out the health of the water and soil. Samples were tested for pH, temperature, turbidity, salinity and more. The test was used in multiple samples, across the river to gather more information for a more accurate result. We compared our results to one of professionals and results that the council used for warnings of the river's health. This showed if pollution is or isn't affecting into the river. Photographs and documented information such as lists and graphs were be used to demonstrate the evidence of collected information from the water and soil tests. We wanted to do the water tests so see the first-hand health of the river, as any bad results should be immediately reported for professional help and recognition. We can also gain insight into the types of animals which can survive in the current climate of the area and if pollution is affecting any part of the river's health.
Primary data - Equipment: (test kits; pH water and soil test, turbidity etc...), note taking device (iPhone, note pad, etc...), Camera, containers or jars to collect soil and water
Through the use of multiple websites, blogs and news reports we found relevant data that either supports or argues against our aims yet investigates any cause or reasoning for the current health of the Never Never River. It is important that we used this form of secondary data to support views we may not be able to gain or evidence that has previously been found and we may not be able to, therefore providing our findings with a wider range of opinions, views, evidence, data and truth. We took unedited quotes from relevant websites, summarised them and showed our evaluation of each finding. We had to be careful of fake evidence and bias opinions as they may be harmful to the reliability of our investigation. To be more careful with our website choice we tried to choose from trusted websites such as ABC news, any government run website or trusted local blogs with real and supportive evidence.
Secondary research - Equipment: access to the internet & website browsing.