Ribbons of Blue/Waterwatch WA is an environmental education network aimed at increasing community awareness and understanding about local water quality, and taking action for a better environment. Our coordinators around the state work with school and community groups on a range of educational and local action projects that can include water quality monitoring and waterway restoration.
Local communities actively involved in learning about and protecting environmental water quality, and sharing responsibility for management of waterways, wetlands and ground water.
Students are asked to make a model ‘macro’ and enter it in
the 2008 ‘Create a Creature’ competition.The model could represent an actual macroinvertebrate, or be a ‘fantasy’
creature which is based on realistic information.
In Term 2, 2008 Ribbons of Blue will offer a new project ‘Stormwater Snapshot' in some regions. The project focuses on water flow in school grounds. In urban settings water flow differs to natural catchments in two very important ways:
Ribbons of Blue water quality data now going into WIN database
Water quality data collected by school and community groups will now be entered into the WIN (Water Information Network) database managed by the Department of Water.
A new resource kit for Primary Teachers 'Ribbons of Blue: In and Out of the Classroom' to be launched in February 2008.
'Ribbons of Blue: In and Out of the Classroom' is a new package of curriculum materials for Primary teachers. It is designed to complement the excursions and activities run by the Regional Coordinator with detailed lesson plans on a range of subjects related to the health of waterways, wetlands, groundwater and catchments. The materials were written to form a significant part of a teaching and learning program and are fully-linked to the Curriculum Framework, and include assessment tasks and associated rubrics.
At least twenty-six frog species live in the south west of WA, and most of those spend a large part of their life cycle along streams. The clamour of frog calls along streams is a common winter sound.
