TERM 1 2021 Education Newsletter

Teacher and educator professional development sessions 2021

Are you a teacher interested in SESSION 1 ONLINE SESSION 3 learning about the journey of water in 4:30-5:15PM 18 FEBRUARY 5PM-6PM, 31 MARCH the ACT? Register and come along to Digital learning workshops with Discovery Tour one of our engaging workshops. the Urban Catchment Model for educators and friends ACT chapter, Australian Association Our workshops are suitable for SESSION 2 for Environmental Education local educators teaching students 5PM-6PM, 24 FEBRUARY about water in primary levels years Primary school teachers Cotter 2-6 Secondary Year 7-10 HASS, For more information and Dam Discover Tour workshop at Geography and Science. Inquire to register for these FREE the Cotter Avenue about a workshops for your school workshops, contact [email protected]

Book a FREE digital education session with BOOK NOW the ACT water cycle model.

If your class is learning about water this term, we can help! Book in your class for a free digital education session. Through our water cycle model, we can help educate your students on the amazing journey of water in the ACT.

Contact us at [email protected] to organise a free online education session for your class

E [email protected] T (02) 6248 3111 Let’s connect iconwater.com.au Education resources and activities to download

SECONARY -10

ACTIVIT PRIMARY 3-6 New education materials are Wet ACTIVIT PRIMARY 2-6 wipe ACTIVIT Toilet available to download for free. paper

Paper towel These resources offer a series of fun and engaging activities, videos, and To flush or not to flush, that is the question SECONARY -10

Instructions The to flush or not to flush activity helps you and your family investigate the properties row your own mini catchment of common materials that are used for personal toilet hygiene, so you can discover for FACTSHEETSITE TOR factsheets that explore the role of Step 1 Take your clean container and remove the lid. yourself what can and cannot be flushed! If using a rinsed soft drink bottle, remove the label from In this activity you will make your own mini your bottle and carefully cut the bottle in half (adult What are sewer drains catchment to observe the different stages supervision will be required). 20mins There are two types of drains in the urban water cycle; sewage drains and stormwater drains. Step 2 Add a layer of gravel, followed by a layer of sand of the hydrological cycle. 1-3 people in the bottom of your container for drainage. Build up Equipment required: water in our everyday lives and the Sewer drains 12 people one end of the container with a sloping edge to make a small hill or mountain. What do you flush or put down drains? † 1 sheet of toilet paper mins † 1 tissue Step 3 Start with a quick survey to list all the items that you and the catchment on the west of the ACT and 15 minutes Spoon the soil into the bottle until it is around 1/3 † full. Make small holes in the soil and place in your plants.family know about, other than soapy water, that goes 1 piece of paper towel on the south east of the 30 minutes catchment. Our catchment rivers are where we build Preparationdams time: Add other features like sticks, moss and pebblesdown to theyour drains in your home. † 1 wet wipe medium to hold our water supply. Activity time: mini garden. ACT Urban water supply. † 2- 4 jars or containers with lids, of a similar size, Difficulty: Family to shake your material in The Cotter River catchment is made up of three water Step 4 Water the plants until the soil is soaked through. storage dams, , and Cotter Dam. Member Bathroom Laundry † One cup of water for each material you test These dams catch the run off water from creeks within Euipment reuired Step 5 Fill a small dish (bottle lid) with water and add to Kitchen † the Brindabella mountain ranges. The Queanbeyan River Toilet Sieve or Thesestrainer are to pipes drain inside the youritems homes, at the schools end and Stormwater drains What is a catchment A handy’ map For a temporary classroom project use a 1.25 − 2 L soft your catchment by placing at the bottlom Mumof the / slope. businesses that take away the sewage, the wastewater catchment has one water storage dam, Googong† Dam. Dad † A stopwatch or kitchen timer This dam collects its water from the creeks and riversdrink bottle or a takeaway container with a lid. For a used from your taps, sinks, baths and toilets. These Think of your hand as a map of a catchment. Hold the within the Yanununbeyan and Tinderry mountain ranges.more permanent project use a sealable glass container Step 6 Place the lid on your container to seal your mini † Markerdrains pen join and the paper 3,300km of sewerage network pipes and palm of your hand upwards. Bend your hand slightly to catchment. If using the soft drink bottle, place the top half infrastructure that run underground through Canberra a cup of sand, stones and gravel make a ‘cup shape’. The lines on the palm of your hand Everyone lives in a catchment. Here we build† our back onto the bottom and seal with stickyBrother tape. / to the sewage treatment plant, Lower Molonglo Water should now be more visible. cities, houses and suburbs. Water is sourced† from garden our soil Sister Predict:Quality Control Centre (LMWQCC). catchments and piped to our taps every day, supplying Step 7 Place your mini catchment in a spot with adequate Picture your fingers as mountain ranges and the lines in † water At LMWQCC wastewater from across Canberra is drinking water for the community’s health and wellbeing. sunlight near a window. Do not take off the lid.

your palm as rivers. It’s now starting to rain, the rain is A goodreceived, water screened, detective and conducts treated using experiments physical, chemical using the small plants,OR seedlings and grasses (weeds work E E R A † N S E W E It is important we look after our environment and OURour E R and biological processes to remove the dirt and sludge, running down your fingers, into the rivers and filling up in T A wonders) W scientific method. Before you begin the experiment, The in-class education activities Step 8 Over the next couple of weeks,Me observe how water the palm of your hand. water supply. You can do this by making sure you don’t writeas well down as the your nutrients, prediction detergents of which and materialother additives you think we will use to much water at home or school and† take bottle care cap of or similar to hold water moves through the mini catchment environment. Can put down the drain. There are also drain pipes outside your house that collect Canberra’s catchments work in the exact same way as be the best to flush. what you put down the drain. By doing thesescissors things you you see the different stages of transpiration, evaporation, rainfall runoff from roofs, driveways, footpaths, carparks, your hand catchment. Our catchments sit within the can help protect our catchments and the† urban water condensation, precipitation and runoff? Create a journal Water leaving this treatment plant is so thoroughly I predict... and roads that connect to the storm water drainage Brindabella, Yanununbeyan and Tinderry mountain cycle. † sticky tape to record what happens. treated that it can return to the natural water cycle, free of network. These drains are separate to the sewage system, ranges. When it rains or snows on the mountains, the pollution, and be released into the Molonglo River. It then small trowel, bucket and gloves to collect the materials taking rainfall from gutters on our roads, flowing into water soaks into the ground. The more rain or snow there † flows into the Murrumbidgee River where it will be reused local waterways, lakes and rivers. is, more water will run off and flow down the sides of the by other towns further downstream, eventually joining the have been designed to meet the mountains. 9 Murray River system and flowing all the way to the ocean am :07 11 As the two drain systems are separate, it is important that

20 /5/ 11 near Adelaide in South . E [email protected] sewage and stormwater systems do not connect. If you look at your fingers, you should see little lines. iconwater.com.au All stormwater in our drains will eventually flow back to

Imagine these lines are the creeks and rivers within the T (02) 6248 3111 the Murrumbidgee River system.

9 d .ind mountain ranges that catch the water. 05 7 1-0 0-2 02 I-2 Let’s connect SC Let’s connect

E These creeks and rivers flow into our surrounding rivers T (02) 6248 3111 [email protected] iconwater.com.au such as the Murrumbidgee River, Queanbeyan River Australian curriculum standards. and Cotter River. The ACT has two catchment areas - E [email protected]

iconwater.com.au Use the ACT urban water cycle activity ownoa aaiae now T

to learn about the parts of the natural (02) 6248 3111

water cycle and the built features that They offer tailored outcomes for make up the urban water cycle. Let’s connect Let’s connect

(02) 6248 3111 T

iconwater.com.au students in years F–2, years 3–6 E [email protected] and secondary students in years 7-10. Our aim is for these programs earn aout te roe water to help students understand water resources and to build a capacity to a in our eer a ie think and act in ways that create a more sustainable future.

ON HOLD

Site tours on hold for COVID19 Questions from Kids’

We have decided that it is in the best interest for Does your class have a question about Canberra’s water the safety of our community and staff, to continue to or sewerage? postpone all external visitor and school tours to Icon Water operational sites for 2021. As an essential service You can now submit questions from your students to ask provider, Icon Water’s focus is to safeguard everyone from our fabulous operational and field-staff. Download the potential COVID–19 outbreaks. information fact sheet on how to get involved here. You can also book a free online session for your class in which In the meantime, we are running free online education we will answer your students’ questions. programs and have provided materials, and videos to support student engagement and learning. You can also check out our website to watch our Questions from Kids videos at iconwater.com/ Cotter Dam Discovery Tours are availble in Term One eduquestions 2021 for small groups of up to 25 participants. Subject to COVID19 event controls and ACT Health guidelines. Should you like more information and to organise a session with your class, please contact Kate Rhook, Community Engagement Officer.

Email [email protected] Phone 02 6248 3111 (Option 3)

E [email protected] T (02) 6248 3111 Let’s connect iconwater.com.au