Information and Resources for Schools
National Water Week provides a wide range of fun learning opportunities for your school to increase awareness about water and how important it is to us all. The 2008 theme "Clean Water: Essential for Life" linked to the UN International Year of Sanitation and encourages better understanding of the importance of clean water to people and our environment. Sanitation is often taken for granted, and the activities and resources provided on this site provide you with opportunities to explore water sanitation and water reuse.
Benefits of Participating in NWW Activities
Schools who have participated in NWW activities in the past have found there to be many benefits, including:
- A place to learn about the environment as interconnected series of relationships
- An opportunity for hands-on learning in all areas of the curriculum
- An overall increase in the diversity of play opportunities
- A reduction in school ground violence among students
- An ecologically and aesthetically improved and chemical-free landscape; and
- A model for environmental rehabilitation and community building
By involving parents and community volunteers in these school projects local communities also benefit. The benefits of community naturalisation - citizens working together to create healthier natural areas by planting native trees, shrubs and wildflowers on public landscapes - include:
- Enhancing environmental health by rehabilitating degraded landscapes
- Providing habitat for native birds, butterflies and other insects
- Increasing biodiversity by using native plant species
- Learning first-hand about the natural world and ecological processes which support it
- Strengthening community ties by fostering a sense of cooperation and instilling feelings of pride and stewardship; and
- Building a sense of individual empowerment - people learn that they can make a difference
Get Your School Involved
Get your comprehensive guide to planning and running a National Water Week event for your school.
Steps to get your students involved:
- Nominate a teacher or parent who is willing to oversee preparations for the day
- Pick a location to carry out your National Water Week activities
- Pick a day to run your activity/event
- Register your activity/event on the National Water Week website
- Structure the experience around a simple lesson on water
- Ask the local community for assistance
Schools involved in National Water Week are supported through:
- Access to lesson plans with a focus on the NWW theme for the year
- Fun activities to enhance learning
- National branding under the NWW program
- Newsletters and information
- National Water Week poster (including an A4 outline version that can be coloured in)