9 November 2020

Community exhibition celebrates the making of industry-first education eBook

Where’s Our Water?, a first-of-its-kind education resource for the Australian water industry, is now on show at the Lake Macquarie Museum of Art and Culture (MAC).

In celebration of this year’s NAIDOC Week, Hunter Water is encouraging the community to visit and observe how the unique learning resource was brought to life . The exhibition showcases the student's original drawings, illustration timelapse videos and character self-portraits.

Where’s Our Water? was developed in collaboration with local Aboriginal and education communities, aimed at helping educate young people about the value of water and the role we all play in conserving our precious resource.

The story was written by 10 Aboriginal students from Newcastle High School, with guidance from Hunter Water's Education Coordinator Kristy Ratcliffe, Professor Ruth Deakin-Crick, the University of Newcastle's Dr Kath Grushka, local Aboriginal educator Deirdre Heitmeyer and Aboriginal artist Saretta Fielding.

Education Coordinator Kristy Ratcliffe said it’s exciting to share the work behind the book and celebrate the talented students involved in creating the story.

"We hope to see the community visit the exhibition over the coming weeks to acknowledge the success and value of the project in bringing Aboriginal storytelling into water conservation education."
Kristy Ratcliffe, Hunter Water Education Coordinator

The story has been developed in two versions to incorporate the traditional languages of the Awabakal and Worimi peoples, demonstrating the shared value of this resource within our community.

The exhibition is free and on display at the Lake Macquarie Museum of Art and Culture (MAC) in Booragul, NSW until Sunday 20 December. For more information, click here.

WHERE'S OUR WATER?

This story was written by Aboriginal students from Newcastle High School to help share the value of our most precious resource with children in our community.