More than 3,000 students from Darwin and Katherine schools have completed Power and Water Corporation’s innovative school-based water conservation program.
Now in its fifth year, the Living Water Smart program aims to teach students about their respective local water sources, how their water is treated and why it is important to save water.
Students can be involved through educational projects lasting a day, to a full school term.
Living Water Smart Program Manager, Jethro Laidlaw, said the program is linked to the Australian curriculum and provides considerable STEM outcomes for students.
“What makes this program unique is that it’s inquiry-based learning,” Mr Laidlaw said.
“Students are set with a real-life problem and then empowered to come up with their own solutions.
“It also has a strong behaviour change component ensuring that water conservation lessons are understood, practiced and adopted for life by the students.”
Over the years, Power and Water has partnered with Charles Darwin University, the Bureau of Meterology and the Northern Territory Government to produce a fresh and engaging program for Territory students.
“This year was a bit more challenging due to COVID-19, so we became more creative and are trialling online classroom delivery which has been extremely well received,” Mr Laidlaw said.
Power and Water recently expanded the Living Water Smart school program to remote communities through the That’s My Water! Bush Schools program – a curriculum unit aimed specifically at Territory students living in the bush.
“We are very keen to partner with remote schools and communities to help ensure the sustainability of water supply,” Mr Laidlaw said.
Living Water Smart works with schools, households, businesses, councils and government offering easy and affordable ways to reduce water use. Territorians use about twice as much water as the national average. A lot of our water use is unnecessary and can easily be reduced, saving water as well as money on bills.
For more information on the Living Water Smart schools program, email savewater@powerwater.com.au or phone 8995 5861.
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