Surface Wipe Survey Instructions and Ideas

What you will need:
 

• A roll of see through sticky tape or some moistened cotton wool balls
• Some sheets of white paper
• A pen or pencil to record what you see

What you could do:

• Think of some different places outdoors to test . You could try leaves on trees, sign posts, drain pipes, walls or doors around school or where you live
• MAKE SURE AN ADULT IS WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES AND SAYS THAT IT IS SAFE TO DO THE TESTS. 
• Wipe each surface or stick a piece of tape on it and pull it off again
• Your sample will show you how much pollution there is straight away by how dirty it looks – if you are using tape, stick it to some white paper and write down where the sample came from. If you are using cotton wool balls, press them on the paper and see if it leaves a dirty mark.
• You could also explore different heights and different distances from roads. If there is a lot of pollution at low heights this could be dangerous to children. You could test a surface at feet height; waist height, chest height and head height to see if it is cleaner or dirtier.
• Remember to write down as much as you can – what was the surface, what heights did you test, what was the weather like, how far were you from roads or other places pollution might come from

In your project poster or leaflet we’d like to read about what you decided to do, why you thought it would be interesting, how you did your survey and what you found out. We’d like to see some diagrams or some charts showing the results of your survey.

If you want some more ideas for this project look at this website.

To find out how to enter your project in the competition click here.