Years 7 - 8
Water, and the health of our water system
Overview
The importance of water as the basis of life on the planet, and how to monitor its health, is the subject of this module. Students become familiar with water-testing equipment and explore the potability of their town’s water supply. Applying similar chemical analyses, and using macroinvertebrates as bio-indicators, students assess the health of a nearby water ecosystem. They build a model of an aquifer.
Outcomes
• scientific techniques may be used to determine if groundwater is safe to drink
• potable water must be within guidelines
• sampling is a process where a water sample is used to represent a water body
• accurate data recording is an important part of science
Curriculum Links
• Water is an important resource that cycles through the environment (ACSSU222)
• Identify questions and problems that can be investigated scientifically and make predictions based on scientific knowledge (ACSIS124)
• Measure and control variables, select equipment appropriate to the task and collect data with accuracy (ACSIS126)
• Construct and use a range of representations, including graphs, keys and models to represent and analyse patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS129)
• Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions based on evidence (ACSIS130)
• Use scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to evaluate claims based on evidence (ACSIS132)
• Identify questions and problems that can be investigated scientifically and make predictions based on scientific knowledge (ACSIS139)
• Measure and control variables, select equipment appropriate to the task and collect data with accuracy (ACSIS141)
• Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions based on evidence (ACSIS145)
• Reflect on scientific investigations including evaluating the quality of the data collected, and identifying improvements (ACSIS146)
• Use scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to evaluate claims based on evidence (ACSIS234)
From the Noongar
...“When the great Waugal created the boodja, he ensured that there was wirrin or spirits to look after the land and all that it encompassed. Some places such as the karda (hills) and ngamar (waterholes), boya (rocks), bilya/beelier (rivers) and boorn (trees) were created as sacred sites and hold wirn (spirits), both wara/mambaritj (bad) and kwop (good). If a person upsets the resting serpent in a water hole, for example, or at the bottom of a spring, the consequences could be dire.”
From: www.noongarculture.org.au/education
…“there was a great explosion as the earth was being formed. Boyagin Rock erupted and out of the ground came the wagles, the giant rainbow serpents. Their bodies, as thick as tree trunks, glistened and shimmered a silvery green. Each serpent had a mane of hair, and large luminous eyes; and as they slithered their way out of the rocky hill, their haunting cries to the night sky were like the drone of a thousand frogs …on that hill called mount Matilda, you see the trails of the rainbow serpents. There are one, two, three and four. You can count them as they come over the hill there… all the rocks have been pushed out to the edge of the roadways. …they formed what we now see as the Avon river, going past Northam and Toodjay… The Noongar people know it as the Ballardong river, not the Avon river…. The dreamtime spirits came and saw them all resting at the bottom of the hill. And so they made the place into a swamp where these creatures could rest unseen... slithering over the hill and down into the swamp you can see at the bottom of Mount Matilda...”
From Ballardong Elder, the late Everett Kickett, IN: Recording Traditional Knowledge Our Country – Our Stories – Our People.
https://www.wheatbeltnrm.org.au/sites/default/files/ knowledge_hub/documents/RTKlitweb_0.pdf
...“A river is a spirit home, and we go there to visit our ancestors. We throw sand to let them smell us. When someone dies, we go there and sing them home. When Noongar people visit a river or water body, we throw a handful of sand into the water. We use language to let the Waugal know of our presence. Noongar people see the condition of the rivers and waterways as directly related to the well-being of the Waugal. It is part of our caring for country and the cultural landscape to ensure the Waugal is not disturbed. If the water body is disturbed, it means the Waugal is too. Failure to throw sand into the water could cause us harm in return. When we practice this custom, the water can be safely used for swimming (djabooly-djabooly), drinking (djoriny), catching fish (gil-git) or turtle (yakkan, yakkinn, ya-gyne)”
… From Ballardong Elder, the late Ralph Winmar (Munyari) In: Walwalinj : the hill that cries.
www.incubator.wikimedia.org [wp/nys/Ralph Winmar]
From the Expert
Steve Beatty says…
” Freshwater ecosystems occupy a tiny fraction (<1%) of the Earth’s surface and yet are home to more than 10% of known species. The high level of biodiversity is highlighted by the fact that approximately half of all fish species are found in inland aquatic ecosystems. Unfortunately, human activities are placing enormous pressures on these unique and sensitive freshwater ecosystems. Key threats include water abstraction (for drinking, agriculture, manufacturing, and power generation), pollution, destruction of riparian habitats, and the effects of introduce species, particularly non-native fishes. Climate change is also having an increasing impact on freshwater ecosystems forcing species to live in hotter and smaller (due to reduced rainfall) aquatic environments.
The south-west of WA has a particularly unique range of freshwaters species. For example, more than 80% of freshwater fish and 100% of native crayfish are endemic to the region. It is also home to species with millions of years of evolution, like the amazing Pouched Lamprey whose origins pre-date the dinosaurs.
Unfortunately, like other places around the world, our precious freshwater ecosystems in the south-west have been impacted by the human activity that has occurred since European settlement. Pollution, particularly in the form of increased salinity, has impacted many freshwater species in the large rivers like the Swan-Avon, Blackwood, and Murray. Introduced freshwater fishes are also having an impact in this region with many recently detected species in our rivers and wetlands coming from the aquarium trade. Climate change has also resulted in a reduction in our rivers flows by >50% over the past 40 years.
Learning about the freshwater environments in the south-west, particularly their cultural significance, is the first important step in helping to protect the unique species that rely on them to survive.