Transcript Slide 1

2005
Annual activities:
•Wild Games in the West (quarterly holiday programs)
•World Wetlands Day
•Wimmera Machinery Field Days
•Horsham Wetlands Walk for Art is… Festival
•World Water Day
•Saltwatch
•WWVic QA/QC
•Annual town shows
•WCMA Kids Conference
•National Water Week/Spring Macro Activities
Monitoring, recording and
interpretation at Yaapeet PS and
guided walk at Warracknabeal PS
•School and community monitoring and sessions
eg monitoring, guided walks, catchment tours
Annual activities:
Catchment Tours
Goroke College
Grades 5-6 students
at Lake Ratzcastle
as part of their local
catchment tour
Annual activities: Stormwater Education
Stormwater guided walks: gutter surveys, caring for the environment,
erosion-transportation- deposition, local water cycles, and plant life.
Annual activities: Kids Conference
Kaniva College (left)
Edenhope College (below)
St Mary’s
Primary School:
Water for Life –
Rights and
Responsibilities
linked to T1,T2
and T3 WCW
sessions
Annual activities:
Wild Games in the West
A Western Wimmera school holiday program:
environmentally based games and activities
presented by NRM staff at different towns.
Annual activities: Guided Creek Walks
Yarriambiack Creek Warracknabeal:
Beulah /Altona North PS visit (left)
St Mary’s Primary School : web of water life in
a dry creek bed (below)
Warracknabeal PS (below left)
Annual activities:
Aquatic Macro-invertebrate studies
Annual activities:
Web of Water Life Simulations
Used with many lower
catchment schools
from mid primary to
lower secondary.
Modified to represent
species found in
water surveys locally.
New activities:
•In schools and the community
•Waterwatch Australia Conference workshops : Brad (with WWVic -data), Harvey (with Mallee WC WW in dry lands) and Jeanie (simulations) ; and static presentation of Networking in the Wimmera
•About 40 water quality monitoring kits to community and school monitors
•WCMA Green Schools program at Rupanyup, Rainbow, Edenhope
•WCMA Kids Conference workshops: Harvey Catchment Puzzle, and Jeanie River Red Gum Walk
•Clarrie the Catfish water education page monthly in Regional newspaper
•Halls Gap Wild Flower Show
•fishing habitat and identification education sessions
•Upper Catchment evaporation/condensation/transpiration with plants/ water cycle model
• increase in Horsham schools monitoring and using wetlands for water life
•Water for life: 3 lower catchment schools linked for World Water Day and Saltwatch
•St Mary’s PS Prep- Year 1 book of water creature drawings after water web simulation in dry creek
•Advance Program with the Warracknabeal Special Developmental School
•Rainbow Country Hour community celebration
•Jeparit Waterwatch 10 years of continuous monitoring community celebration
•Rainbow SC VCE Ag/Hort weekly monitoring of farm water project
•Stormwater Education Programs at Nhill, Edenhope, Kaniva, Yaapeet, and St Marys PS
New activities:
Encouraging drawings in younger children
Water creatures by Prep Y1 St Mary’s PS
(Warracknabeal) turned into a class book
New activities:
Greater use of Horsham Weir Pool and Wetlands
Many sessions eg
Horsham College year 9’s in
November l(eft)
Horsham Coll in March (below)
St Michael’s and St John’s PS July
(below Left)
New activities:
Greater use of Horsham Weir Pool and Wetlands
Horsham Lutheran
Primary School
Environmental
Club
New activities:
Observing Damsel flies – at Horsham, Warracknabeal and Beulah
Leigh out with Horsham College Year 9’s macro session:
When one of their days turned hot, students had the
bonus of witnessing a mass of damselflies and dragonflies
mating! It was a rare chance to observe size, shape and
colour differences between genders and species. Some
female damselflies were dropping their eggs off in the
water while grasping (or being grasped, no one was quite
sure) by their mate. Students were so interested in this
wonder of nature, that Leigh was sure they all went away
with a greater appreciation of a healthy ecosystem
Jeanie out with WSDS Advance Group for final
monitoring session at Apex Park:
Photos from J. Clark private collection
Well camouflaged damselfly nymphs were also out
enjoying the sunshine and a thick carpet of milfoil. There
was great excitement for those who learned how to identify
them in the plants. The link between abundant damselfly
nymphs found in their aquatic macro-invertebrate surveys
here some weeks earlier, and these adult flies was easy to
understand.
New activities:
Plants and the Water Cycle Model
Developed by Leigh,
To make a big model of evaporation,
condensation, and precipitation over
a few weeks.
used at a number of schools
eg Rupanyup PS
New activities:
Fishing Habitat and Identification Model
Developed by Leigh, used at a number of schools
eg Netherby PS during Environmental Awareness Day
New activities:
World Water Day – Saltwatch link
Same Activities for 3 schools:
What do you use water for? Drawings shared (right)
Where does our water come from?
How much water do we have?
How good is the water we have? (below)
A plan to use your water better?
St Peters PS (Dimboola)
New activities:
World Water Day – Saltwatch link
Activities:
What do you use water for?
Beulah PS added then needs of a water bird needs based on Masked Lapwing
observed in T4 2004. (below left)
A plan to use your water better? Poster drawings (below)
New activities:
World Water Day – Saltwatch link
St Mary’s PS (Warracknabeal)
Saltwatch (this page)
Added another link in T3 with Rights
and Responsibilities for Water Play
New activities:
New monitors
From all across the catchment
New activities:
Rainbow SC VCE Ag/Hort Farm Water Monitoring
Weekly monitoring in Sem 2
New activities:
Jeparit Waterwatch 10th Anniversary Celebrations
Museum monthly monitors - of which two have
been 10 year monitors (top left)
All participants gave short talks covering all
aspects of Jeparit Waterwatch (below)
Celebrations lunch (below left)
New activities:
Jeparit Back to Anniversary Weekend Displays
Jeparit PS prepared new displays to show how their salinity levels have changed
over 10 years and between the seasons – displayed at the local show, for the
back to and now on permanent display in a shop window in the main street with
the intention to update regularly in 2006 and add other river display materials.
New activities:
Recognising long service participants
Certificate presentations linked WWVic, Wimmera
CMA, local shires to schools and community
members who had participated for:
10 years (5) eg Jeparit PS to left
5 years (35) eg anticlockwise from left: Apsley PS,
Beulah PS, Dimboola MSC, and farm/river monitors
from Antwerp and Lower Norton.
New activities:
Using the trailer in many ways
Anticlockwise from left: Halls Gap Wild Flower Festival,
World Wetlands Day, Jeparit Waterwatch 10th anniversary,
Rainbow Country Hour Street Party, upper catchment
stormwater education, Jeparit ‘Back to’ Parade.
New activities:
WCMA Green Schools Program
Taking environmental sessions to 4 schools for a
morning to encourage greater participation in the future
Held on school grounds (below)
eg Waterwatch water web of life for Pacific
Black Duck (left)
New activities:
Clarrie the Catfish
monthly regional newspaper
water education page in the
Wimmera Mail Times
Advance
a state government
secondary education program
Goal :
to enable young people’s
participation and volunteering
in community life
through activities
that promote:
personal development;
skills and
community links
Warracknabeal
Special Developmental School
has taken on the Advance program in 2005,
with Wimmera Community Waterwatch
as the primary community support,
for learning about and caring for our creek.
The Advance program enables
young people
12 students from Groups 2 and 3 at the WSDS
to do something with their community
* learn about the creek,
* learn monitoring,
interpretation
and reporting skills
* practical care for the creek
at the Apex Park site,
with its sediment trap,
on the Yarriambiack Creek,
Warracknabeal
Advance
links schools in partnership with a community organisation(s)
such as Warracknabeal Special Developmental School with
*Wimmera Community Waterwatch,
with support from:
* Wimmera Catchment Management Authority
* Yarriambiack Shire
* Yarriambiack Landcare
* Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries)
* Warracknabeal Yarriambiack Creek Development Committee
The Advance program involves
choices by young people, such as
* training in skills to their ability level
* caring activities for the creek
* reporting
The Advance Group observes :
WIDTH and DEPTH
It’s easy when its shallow!
WSDS Advance group found that the creek was
widest (8 m) and deepest (45 cm)
in late August, with the winter rain.
The creek dried out in mid May.
WATER LIFE
little things living in the water
The WSDS Advance group found 9 species of aquatic macro-invertebrates
living in the milfoil plants in the creek on 7/9/05:
Lots of tiny water fleas, water mites, and pond snails,
Some aquatic weevils, boatmen, segmented worms,
and a few caddisfly nymphs, other fly nymphs.
Tadpoles and Pacific Black Ducks were also in the milfoil.
“The Pacific
Black Duck
is lucky because
it gets to eat all the
creatures
we found and
identified.” Dean
DATA
The Advance group tests water
and the data becomes part of
regional data gathered for the
Yarriambiack Creek.
Salinity of the Yarriambiack Creek,
Warracknabeal Town water and a Bangerang Dam in 2005
3500
salinity in uS/cm EC's
3000
2500 too salty for human drinking water, and for many plants
2000
Creek at Apex Park
Creek at Fong Tong Ave
Creek at Lions Park Bridge
Creek at Ski Boat Ramp
Wood St drain water
Apex Drain water
Town water
dam water
World Health Organisation Limit for good drinking water
1500
1000
500
rain water
quality
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date
TURBIDITY
How clear the water is
WSDS Advance group found that
the creek water is mostly murky,
but that the plants help to clear it.
HARDNESS
=how soft or hard the water is
or how well it makes bubbles!
WSDS Advance group
found that
the creek water is soft,
from its source as
rainwater off the streets.
Water quality tests
Comparing
water
quality
from
different
sources
Water source
salinity
pH
turbidit
y
hardne
ss
Rain
None, low =
great
Neutral
= good
Low =
very
clear
Soft
Creek
Mostly low
Mostly
neutral
Mostly
murky
Mostly
soft
Town
Mostly over
WHO drinking
water
guidelines,
and becoming
too salty for
the leaves of
many garden
plants
Mostly
neutral
Very
clear
Very
soft
Dam
Fine for
sheep, too
salty for most
garden plants
Slightly
alkalin
e but
ok for
chemic
al
sprays
Mostly
fair but
worse
after
rain or
stock
use.
Hard
water –
a
proble
m for
some
chemic
al
sprays
WEED and SEED
pulling up the
garden escapee Gazania
and planting the native
Wallaby Grass
An Arbour Week activity, involving
WSDS, WCW and YSC Landcare
Officer Ietsyn Hosking.
Six teams of three students dug
out about 400 Gazanias, invading
the Wallaby Grassland under the
River Red Gum Trees. Plants
were bagged and disposed off
site.. Only those beneath the
bee’s tree were left!
WCW/Warracknabeal SDS Advance Group Teacher Reference Sheet by J. Clark, WCW lower Catchment coordinator
WEED and SEED afternoon
We will WEED GAZANIA
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and plant local WALLABY GRASS SEED
Tough dryland daisy plant of Africa
Escapee of Wimmera gardens
Gaining ground from native plants
Non-native of our creek reserve
Has:
Large bright flowers in spring
Soft light feathery seeds carried by wind
Wide long leaves
Dark green top side of leaves
Silver green under side of leaves
a clump form
Strong thick root systems
Needs to grow:
Some rain in winter
Lots of sun to open flowers in spring
Tough enough to survive:
Drought
Salty soil
Tough dryland grass of South East Australia
Losing ground to the Gazania
Native of our creek reserve
Has:
Tiny mauve and/or cream grain seed flowers in
spring
Soft light V or 3 pronged seeds carried by wind
Narrow spiky leaves
Bright green fading to cream leaves over time
a clump form
Strong root systems
Needs to grow:
Some rain in winter
Lots of sun to ripen flowers in spring
Tough enough to survive:
Drought
Salty soil
TREE PLANTING
In Spring,
Warracknabeal SDS Advance group planted
• 6 River Red
Gums
• and 6
Black Boxes
CATCHMENT MODEL
Warracknabeal SDS
Advance group
created a sand pit
model
of the Wimmera
Catchment
in preparation for their
field trip upstream
from Warracknabeal.
CATCHMENT TOUR
•Warracknabeal
SDS Advance
tour went to the
sources of the:
• Yarriambiack
Ck (distributary
in flat cropping
land) and
•the Wimmera
River (tributary
in forested hilly
land).
VALUES and ATTITUDES
Background: In April someone sprayed and mowed all the plants at the WSDS creek site.
Then it dried up and smelt bad. The students monitored its recovery. Here it is in November.
Student answers to
What did you most enjoy learning ?
•Mez - how to test water
•Sharna – how to test with chemicals and what
water testing readings mean
•Thomas – wildlife at the creek
•Tara – frogs and tadpoles
•Dean – birds and listening to bird song
•Joel – planting and weed and seed day
•Scott – how trees grow and how to plant them
•Michael – seeing the stormwater drain fill and
gushing over the rock wall
•Pat- being out at the creek
•Nikita–the trip to Longerenong and Elmhurst
•Mark – Creek became healthier over 8 months
(after it was sprayed, mowed and dried out)
•Ellie – doing something to help the creek
VALUES and ATTITUDES
Background: The WSDS Advance group comprised 13 students, 4 support teachers, and one Waterwatch
coordinator, supported by others from the community and agencies.
Despite a huge range of general and communication abilities in this group, each individual learnt to care
more about the environment and express their opinions of its values.
Teacher answers to
What did you most enjoy learning ?
Marilyn – amazed by the wildlife at the creek
Lynne – the amount of animals at this creek
site, below the bridge only driven over before
Wendy – enjoyed the opportunity to learn the
tests
Jeanie – heaps of damselfly nypmhs out this
spring, and the ability of each individual
student to tune into and think about this
environment.
We were all pleasantly surprised by the attention that
students develop in their observations of this and
other environments as a result of this program.
I would strongly recommend the
Advance program to other Waterwatch
programs.
J.Clark.
New activities:
•administrative
•Team now each has the same digital cameras and computing equipment
•Projects: Story Books, Wimmera Specific Identification Sheets
•WWVic Database upgrade and WCW monthly reporting database implemented
•Staff
•Waterwatch in the Wimmera became 10 years old in January 2005
• long service of WCW staff:
• Pat completed 10 years service in October 2004
• Jeanie completed 10 years service in January 2005,
• Harvey completed 8 years of service in December 2005
•Recognition of Pat’s 10 years service at WW Aust Conference and
at Wimmera CMA board meeting.
•Leigh employed as fourth local Waterwatch facilitator in March 2005
•Resignations:
•Pat resigned in August.
•Brad resigned in October, returned to Berri, SA .
Proposed new for 2006 :
•In schools and the community
•Launch of the Identification sheets and of the Story Books
•East – West School exchange
•Stormwater Education focus on drain stencilling in Horsham and other centres
•Rollout of more monitoring kits
•Jeparit PS/WW shop window display
•Administrative
•Staff
•Waterwatch in the Wimmera in its 12 th year!
•Leigh to work in Upper Catchment
•New middle catchment facilitator to begin in January
•New regional coordinator to begin as early as possible in 2006
A program of the Wimmera CMA gratefully
acknowledges the support of its sponsors :
Northern Grampians
Sh ir e C o u nc i l
West Wimmera
Shire Council
And of its participant
community members
and schools.