At your school

Learning to save water can start at any age – and children and teachers can make a big difference by being careful with water while at school.
One of Hunter Water’s main aims is to educate the community about how important water is and how we can save it. So here’s some ideas that can be used by everyone at our local schools.

Ideas for everyone

Everyone going to school can help save water – you don’t have to be the principal or even a teacher to find ways not to waste water. Here’s some ideas that every student and teacher can use:
• Save water from the drinking taps. Place ice cream containers under the water fountains/bubblers and pour excess water on the garden.
• Turn taps off after washing hands.
• Catch rain water. Place containers outside when it rains and collect the water to put on the garden.
• Wash paint brushes in a bucket or ice cream container – don’t use running water
• Bring a water bottle to school. At the end of the day, any left-over water can be poured on the garden.
• Create colourful and fun posters on water education.
• Tell someone when you see a leak – a leaking tap, bubbler or toilet wastes a lot of water – getting a leak fixed quickly will save a lot of water and money. Even a bubbler that is dribbling water wastes a lot of precious water during a day.

Ideas for teachers

Here are a few ideas for educating the next generation about the importance of water in our lives. Remember these are just a start, the more creative you can be the better.
• The Arts: paint pictures, view or present performances or sing songs that convey the water conservation message
• English: read articles or debate water related issues in your local area, or write stories about the role that water plays in your life
• Health & Physical Education: discuss how water quality and quantity can impact the health of the individual and community relations; investigate the functions of the local water authority
• Languages Other Than English: investigate the role that water plays in various cultures
• Mathematics: apply mathematical inquiry and techniques to measure rainfall in your local area, carry out a water audit at your school, or understand the amount of water used in your local region; get students to monitor water use at home - read the meter daily, determine how much water is used per person in the household and set percentages for improvement - most improved could win a prize at the end of a month / term / year
• Science: study the water cycle, test water quality in your local area (comparing different land uses upstream of various locations), understand the importance of water for life and how plants and animals adapt to different water conditions (aquatic to arid), understand the role of water in geological formations or atmospheric conditions
• Studies of Society and Environment: investigate the land use within the local region, the impacts these have on water conditions and usage, and how these have changed over time
• Technology: investigate the development of water supply and water treatment in your local area, and how these technologies consider the environment and society in order to support economic growth

Ideas for principals

Principals have a lot of responsibility in managing school resources, making sure all taps, toilets and sinks work correctly and the school is safe for children to use.
Here’s some important tips for principals to remember when managing the school and its water use:
• Consider installing aerators on taps to reduce flow through taps.
• Consider installing rainwater tanks. Use rainwater to flush toilets or for watering the garden.
• Check for leaks. Get someone to fix the leaking taps, bubblers or toilets as soon as possible.
• Ensure air conditioners aren’t leaking.
• Consider installing dual flush toilets.
• Consider installing taps which automatically shut off

Ideas for cleaners

School cleaners must also be careful to use water wisely – obviously water is needed to clean floors and sinks, but there are some important tips for cleaners too:
• While toilets should be cleaned every day they may not necessarily need to be hosed every day. Where possible a broom or mop should be used in preference to a hose.
• Don’t leave taps running while cleaning hand basins.
• Be sparing about hosing - only the toilet areas should be hosed and only when necessary for health reasons. Hosing should not be done as a matter of course if it is not required.
• Hard surfaces other than toilets should not be hosed except in exceptional circumstances. Where possible use a broom or a mop. A blower vac is an affordable option for cleaning playground areas.

Ideas for gardeners

Many schools have extensive grounds and gardens and the people who look after the gardens can definitely help the school save water.
Here’s some ideas:
• Use sprinklers carefully - the large grounds at a school can make watering with a hand held hose difficult and time consuming but sprinklers can be forgotten and remain on long after the plants have enough water. A tap timer may be used to turn off sprinklers after a specified time.
• Group plants carefully - if an automatic watering system is used it is important that plants with particular watering needs are grouped together and watered appropriately.
• Adjust automatic watering systems for daily conditions – you don’t want to water grounds or gardens if it is raining.
• Use trigger operated nozzles in hoses – you can then only use water when you need it.
• Use mulch - mulch can reduce evaporation from soil by up to 70%. Mulch is like a blanket on the soil. It keeps the soil cool and it reduces evaporation because the soil is not exposed to dry air and drying winds.
• Use compost - compost provides valuable nutrients and encourages drainage, while keeping the soil moist.
• Check for leaks in the hoses and taps.
• Water new plants before removing from pots, then place in the prepared garden. Water well and allow to drain. Follow this by regular watering until plants are established.
• Never water in the heat of the day, most water will evaporate. It is better to water later in the day or early morning so that the water soaks into the soil.
• Water plants at the base thoroughly and infrequently, so that water reaches the roots, rather than giving them a light sprinkling more often. Roots will then go down to search for water, making plants stronger.
• Cut the base off a plastic bottle and bury it upside down next to the plants - poured in water will then get straight to where it matters - the roots.
• Don’t water the school lawn if you don’t need to - grass can survive for long periods without water and will quickly recover from drought. Unless you totally drench the lawn, watering encourages the roots to come to the surface, thus rendering it less tolerant to dry conditions.
• Raise the blades on the mower so that the lawn is left longer and cut the grass less frequently.
• Maintain the garden and plants so that water is not wasted on dead, diseased or damaged plants. Dead-head flowering plants to encourage new growth and remove any rotten or dead wood.
• Pull weeds out when the shoots first appear, before they compete with plants for precious water and always before they set seed.