Xavier students showcase water smarts

More than 150 students from Xavier College in Gawler have shown they’ve got the smarts on water management, presenting an inspired water showcase to SA Water as part of their humanities curriculum.

Exploring a range of themes including desalination, water security and water reuse opportunities, the school’s year seven cohort delivered the showcase across two days last week using a variety of dioramas, experiments, posters and self-developed websites.

SA Water Manager of Community and Aboriginal Engagement Rachael Siddall said they were captivated by the students’ level of creativity and innovation.

“Their ingenuity was fascinating – it was clear they harnessed their inquisitive minds and expanded their understanding of the wonderful world of water,” Rachael said.

“One of the greatest things about the showcase is that it was student-driven; they each discovered a niche within sustainability, science and water management, exploring a host of topics which even involved the development of a website designed to enhance knowledge about water availability.

“It was endearing to hear from our future leaders, who are an integral part of building a sustainable future which is underpinned by education, and they should be congratulated on their excellent work.”

Among the various water-infused projects, students also developed water saving inventions for a range of industries and researched alternative water supply solutions for cities.

Living the expression ‘practice what you preach’, the water savvy students made changes to their own behaviours, choosing to bring their own bottles while they’re out and about to avoid purchasing bottled water, using tap timers while taking a shower, and filling their dishwasher before running a cycle.

"Their research helped the students understand water’s role in supporting a better life for our communities and empowers them to think more about water in their every day life,” Rachael said.

Working together with schools across the state, SA Water delivers an ongoing education program which provides an opportunity for students to learn about the importance of water and raises awareness of the critical processes behind ensuring safe, clean water and a dependable sewerage network.

Lauded by students and teachers alike, the program involves tours and workshops such as Slippery Stuff, Follow That Drop, Poo-Do Gurus and the Sustainability Challenge, linking to the Australian Curriculum across Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and interested schools can book at sawater.com.au.

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