Using water sustainably through science

• This teacher resource is highly valuable for the Year 7 substrand Use and influence of science. It supports teaching about a range of water use and management issues, the positive and negative effects of human activities, and how science and technology contribute to solving water issues. Lesson outlines and investigations explore new research and emerging technologies, including water recycling and satellite tracking technologies, as well as ecosystem sustainability in the Murray-Darling Basin. The resource also supports teaching about careers in water management, including in farming, climate science and land management fields.
• This resource is of significant value for the Year 7 substrand Earth and space sciences, in particular the content description about how water is a renewable resource that cycles through the environment. The resource is particularly valuable for teaching about human management of water, including an investigation task about the Murray-Darling Basin and how water use impacts flows. There are also links to clips about climatic factors that influence the water cycle, such as the clip describing El Nino and La Nina patterns.
• This resource is of significant value for the year 7 geography unit Water in the world. It is especially valuable for teaching about water scarcity and the strategies used in Australia to overcome it, including water recycling, irrigation methods, and the large-scale relocation of Australia's agricultural industry. There are many opportunities to examine competing uses of water, variability of water supplies and sustainable uses. This resource also supports exploring the movement of water through the environment through an investigation of the Murray-Darling Basin; and teaching about the causes and impacts of hydrological hazards such as storms, droughts and floods.
• This a valuable resource for the years 7 and 8 design and technologies content description about food and fibre and their production in managed environments. It is particularly relevant for looking at land and water management methods used in Australia's agriculture industry and the sustainability of food production techniques. This resource contains an investigation of embedded water in food and fibre products and explores different water management methods, including irrigation technologies and water-saving strategies.
• This resource is also valuable for the Sustainability cross-curriculum priority, particularly for investigating how sustainable water use depends on cohesive social, economic and ecological systems. It is valuable for teaching about how a sustainable future relies on developing an understanding of environments as well as evaluating past practices, assessing scientific and technological developments, and forming balanced views on future requirements and impacts.

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