Activity Introduction

school-clean-stormwater-tips-hero-260x300Quick summary: In this activity students work in groups to complete an audit of the school’s stormwater system. Students begin by looking at maps of the local area and making assessments about where stormwater from their school would go, in particular, which waterways would school stormwater enter into. Students then use a map of the school grounds to identify all the stormwater drains at their school, and make recommendations for improving the stormwater system that can be incorporated into the School Water Management Plan.

Character-holding-icon_WaterThis lesson can be used when working on the Water Module of ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic Certification. By completing this lesson you will have completed the following actions:

Water Checklist Compulsory Actions:

A1.1 – Have you completed an audit to assess water usage and stormwater collection around your school?

A1.2 Have you collected data on past water usage for at least two years?

                        A1.3 Has this data been entered as your baseline data?

Checklist data goals:

  • No official data goals.

Australian Curriculum Links:

Cross curriculum priorities

Sustainability – OI.1 – The biosphere is a dynamic system providing conditions that sustain life on Earth.

General capabilities

Numeracy, Critical and creative thinking

Explicit content description

Geography Year 5

  • Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary and secondary sources (ACHASSI095)
  • Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions (ACHASSI105)
  • Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI104)
 

Geography Year 6

  • Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary and secondary sources (ACHASSI123)
  • Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions (ACHASSI133)
  • Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI132)

 Syllabus Outcomes: GE3-4. 

Connecting lessons: Water Use Audit – must be completed as a compulsory action.

Resources required: Student worksheet, internet access, hard copy map of the local area (ask your local council or print from Google Maps – ideally this map will have contour lines), hard copy map of your school (your school map have one you can copy or print from Google Maps), Factsheet – Sewage or stormwater?

Digital technology opportunities: Digital sharing capabilities.

Keywords: Water, stormwater, waterways, rubbish, pollutants, school, community.

 

Need some more support? Click on these leading organisations

CERES LogoGreening Australia  
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Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

map-the-stormwater-issues-heroTeacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal:

  • Students recongise the relationship between schoolyard waste and healthy waterways.
  • Students identify strategies for improving school stormwater systems.
  • Students use maps to understand the flow of stormwater at their school and in the local community.

Teacher content information: Many schools have large areas of hard surfaces like car parks, basketball courts, assembly areas or concrete quadrangles. These hard surfaces increase the amount of run-off after precipitation (rain, hail, sleet and snow). This run-off, called stormwater, can carry sediment, oil, leaves and rubbish with it into the nearest school stormwater drain. These drains form part of a local stormwater network, which lead to the nearest waterway without the water being treated. 

Stormwater can also be harvested.

Cool Australia Presents Water from Cool Australia on Vimeo.

Hot tips:

  1. You may need to clarify the difference between stormwate
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Student Worksheet

Thought starter: Where does our drinking water come from?

Stormwater audit - undertake an audit of the stormwater drains at your school to find out how your school can improve water quality in your local waterways.

School name:

Audit date:

Local waterway where stormwater ends up:

 

Physical features of school relevant to stormwater (e.g. slope, areas of hard surface, areas of porous surface):

Group members:

Drain number

Drain condition

Issues

Possible solutions

 

Reflection questions

1. What do you think is the single most important issue relating to stormwater at your school?

 

2. How would you address this issue?

 

3. Do you think this audit is a useful way for assessing stormwater issues at your school? How could it be improved?

 

4. Create a slogan,

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