This year we aim to complete our Resource Smart Schools Water module. Our senior students have recently completed a Water Use Audit, examining the amount of water we are using throughout a week as well as checking each tap, toilet and drinking fountain. Our students then completed a Stormwater Audit, looking closely at all the drains in the school for any issues such as blockages, weeds or litter. As part of this audit we also looked at our local waterways and where our stormwater goes when it leaves the school. We looked at the difference between sewage and stormwater.
We examined our SWEP (Schools Water Efficiency Program) data to discover times of the day when water use was highest and made judgements about why. This data also helped to complete our audit.
This year we have been fortunate to have been accepted into the River Detectives Program through Melbourne Water. Staff have been trained in water testing and we are hoping to take our students to Dandenong Creek in Heathmont for a water testing session.
Each year we take part in the Maroondah City Council incursions offered to schools and this year our Year One students will be looking at the affect litter has on the environment and our waterways.
During Term Four 2018 our senior students took part in the Healthy Rivers, Healthy Bays program run by EEK and Swinburne University. This was a very hands on experience for the students and a great way to highlight the problems with our waterways such as pollution, litter and plastics.
As our school is newly constructed, many of the water appliances, taps and toilets are all water efficient and therefore our usage is already below state benchmarks for the number of students.