Drains are for Rain Years 1–3
Transcription
Drains are for Rain Years 1–3
Enviroschools Action Kickstarter Series Resource 1 – Context: Stormwater This is an Education for Sustainability resource from Enviroschools Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui, profiling a simple way that an Enviroschool has successfully applied the Enviroschools Action Learning Cycle to explore and take action on a meaningful environmental issue. Drains are for Rain Years 1–3 How Kākāriki School took action to care for the worlds of Tangaroa and Hinemoana by painting messages around their drains and so stop pollution getting into our oceans Key words: Water cycle, Pollution, Stream and Ocean–Animal biodiversity, Healthy water – healthy us! Curriculum Links: Health and P.E: Healthy Communities and Environments Arts: Visual Arts Technology: Planning for Practice Brief Development Science: Planet Earth and Beyond Living World 1 Action Kickstarter Resource 1 – Context: Stormwater Drains are for Rain – Years 1–3 Contents Using This Resource 3 Information for teachers about the Environmental Issue: Stormwater Pollution 4 Kākāriki School and Stormwater 6 Kākāriki School’s Process 6 Identify the Current Situation 7 Explore Alternatives 8 Take Action 9 Reflect on Change 11 Appendix 1: Curriculum Links 12 Appendix 2: Tips for Painting around Drains 13 Appendix 3: Unit Plan 14 Appendix 4: Action Planner 17 Appendix 5: Task Planner 18 Appendix 6: Supporting Resources 20 2 Using This Resource Use this resource to explore and take action on an environmental issue. It gives an example from Kākāriki School* and shows how they followed the Enviroschools Action Learning Cycle to: investigate stormwater pollution explore solutions to protect the whānau of Tangaroa and Hinemoana by keeping waterways clean learn IN the environment (not just in the classroom) find out ABOUT the environment take action FOR the environment practise decision making take action to protect their waterways by painting messages around their stormwater drains. This resource contains: information for teachers about the environmental issue of stormwater pollution a practical example of how a school explored and took action on stormwater pollution a unit plan an action planner a task planner practical tips for painting around drains. This resource is for all teachers, not just those from schools registered with the Enviroschools Programme. Although it refers to the Enviroschools Kit and Enviroschools Theme Areas, these are used as a means of deepening understanding of Education for Sustainability processes and concepts and it is not essential to have access to these resources to gain value from the reource. Any teachers from schools that are not Enviroschools and would like to explore the Enviroschools resources in more depth are invited to contact the Enviroschools Facilitator for their locality. Contact details can be found at http://www.enviroschools.org.nz/in_your_region/wellington/our-team * Kākāriki School is a fictional school created from a range of schools that have taken action on stormwater pollution. In particular, thank you to St Mary’s School Carterton and Te Puna Reo o Ngā Kākano Wellington who have supplied the photos for this resource. 3 Information for teachers about the Environmental Issue: Stormwater Pollution Clean, healthy water is essential to protecting the mauri of an ecosystem and to the survival of all the living things living within that ecosystem. We use water every day, and this can result in things entering the water cycle that damage the mauri of the ecosystem and harm the living things that rely on the water. Toilets, sinks, and washing machines collect pollutants, such as urine, faeces, food, and cleaning products. These are directed into special drains that lead to wastewater plants, where the water is cleaned (or “treated”) before being put back into the environment. Big Idea Whanaungatanga: Everything is Connected When we put something that doesn’t belong into a natural system like our waterways, it affects all forms of life in the ecosystem. Drains are for rain and rain only. For more about Whanaungatanga, see Enviroschools Kit, Me in My Environment, Background Text. This “treatment” does not happen with stormwater. When rain falls onto our streets, driveways, and roadside gutters, stormwater drains direct the rainwater away from paths, roads, and buildings and straight back into the waterways of Tangaora and Hinemoana (manga/streams, awa/rivers, roto/lakes, and the moana/oceans). Because stormwater is not “treated”, any rubbish or pollutants that go into stormwater drains will travel into our waterways and into the realm of Tangaroa and Hinemoana. 4 Big Idea The pollutants can degrade the water quality and damage its mauri, killing fish and other living things, and making the water unsafe for swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities. Biodiversity Keeps Everything in Balance For an ecosystem to protect its mauri, it needs a wide range of biodiversity (plants and animals) keeping everything in balance. If stormwater is polluted with chemicals or other rubbish, this can put things out of balance. For more about Mauri, see Enviroschools Healthy Water Theme Area , Background Text. We are part of the ecosystem, and we need to demonstrate kaitiakitanga. There are a number of things we can do to stop stormwater pollution. Safer options for disposing of paint, detergents, or oil Take leftover paint back to the shop or to the hazardous substances section of the landfill Wash cars on grass rather than on driveways or roadways Pour water with detergent in it into the sink or into your garden Take cooking or motor oil to a recycler. Big Idea Kaitiakitanga – We Have Personal and Social Responsibilities We all have an effect on our ecosystems, so we have a role in looking after them. We need to keep stormwater clean by not pouring pollutants, like paint, oil, or detergent down our drains and not putting rubbish, like plastic bags, into roadside gutters and drains. For more about Kaitiakitanga, refer to Enviroschools Healthy Water Theme Area, Background Text. What you put in our water, you may end up eating for your dinner. (I don’t want to eat your pollution either!) 5 Kākāriki School and Stormwater At Kākāriki School, students were working through the Me in My Environment unit from the Enviroschools Kit. They were exploring what they liked and didn’t like in the school environment and were thinking about what they might like to change. They had three Big Ideas up on the wall: Whanaungatanga – Everything is connected. Biodiversity keeps everything in balance. Kaitiakitanga – We have personal and social responsibilities. When they were exploring their playground, they noticed that rubbish was accumulating in the drains. They decided to do something. Other things you might you be investigating that could lead to action related to stormwater drains Stream habitats Ocean habitats What happens to our waste? Pollution Kaitiakitanga Signs/Messages in our Community Seaweek Keep NZ Beautiful Conservation Week Kākāriki School’s Process Kākāriki School followed the Action Learning Cycle from the Enviroschools Kit: Identify the current situation Explore alternatives Take action Reflect on change. 6 Identify the Current Situation Kei hea tātou inaianei? Where are we now? What we did at Kākāriki School We walked around the school and noticed the drains and the rubbish that was down them. Everyone was amazed to find out that there were pipes under the ground that took the water to Tangaroa and Hinemoana in the sea. We read the books The Sea and Me, by local Wellington author Bianca Begovich, and Abigale the Happy Whale, a picture book by Peter Farrelly. These explained how rubbish that goes down the drain goes straight into rivers, lakes, and the sea. We looked at what was in the drains. The caretaker put on some gloves and got a long pole and took rubbish out of the drains and laid it all on a tarpaulin for everyone to see. We recorded what was in the drains and talked about how we felt about it. We wrote our feelings in speech bubbles and put them on the wall beside pictures of our local waterways and beaches. We decided to do something in response to how we felt. We made a plan. We recorded a vision on an Environmental Action Planner from the Take Action section of the Enviroschools Kit (See Appendix 4). Our vision was for a world with clean water and a happy whānau of Tangaroa and Hinemoana. Other things we might have done if we had more time or lived somewhere different: Made observations about the animals in our local stream Made a class mural of the stormwater system, showing the pollution and rubbish we might see, the plants and animals with speech bubbles for how they might feel, and comments from people (kids and adults) about what they think and feel Built on a sustainable coastlines visit, beach clean-up, or sea week activity. Other places to go for information and ideas: The DVD Guardians of the Mauri: Ngā Kaitiaki o te Mauri (Two young fish experience pollution from our urban lifestyles as they look for Awhiorangi, a taniwha) Rusty’s Big Adventure! by Lauren Fletcher (The story of a native kokopu making its way through polluted water, written by a 10 year old student at Hukanui School in Hamilton and developed by Hamilton City Council) The Youtube clip Freddy the Fish Teaches about Stormwater ( where Freddy explains what happens to the rain after it hits the ground, 4:29 mins) 7 Explore Alternatives Me ahu pēhea? What could we do? What we did at Kākāriki School We brainstormed what we could do. One idea was to cover up the drains so the rubbish couldn’t get down them, but we realised then the water would have nowhere to go. We weren’t sure if everyone would know that the drains went to the sea, affecting Tangaora and Hinemoana and their whānau. So we thought we should tell people. We thought we could make other people in the school notice the drains more, and maybe, that would make them more aware of where the water goes. We looked on the Internet for ideas. We found examples of students painting drains at schools in Auckland. (Resene: Paint the drains – Keep water in and pollution out! www.resene.co.nz/comn/services/paint_the_drains.htm) We decided that painting sea creatures was a great idea and would also be really fun and make our school look good. We recorded what we wanted to do on our Environmental Action Planner (Appendix 4). We wanted to paint art on our drains to make people notice them. Other ideas we had: Study local fish and incorporate them into the designs Make art using rubbish from the beach and display it in a public place Hold an auction of art made from recycled materials (similar to what Clifton Terrace Model School had done). 8 Take Action Whakatinanatanga – Making it happen What we did at Kākāriki School We filled out the rest of our Environmental Action Planner and used a Task Planner (also from the Enviroschools Kit, Appendix 5) to make a list of the steps we had to take. We talked to the other classes in the school to see if they liked the idea. We chose to paint a drain at the entrance way to our school because we thought lots of people would see it. We found out that the Board of Trustees could give us permission to paint around a drain inside the school. Kiri’s dad was on the Board, so she went along with him to a meeting and asked the Board. They gave us permission! (If we wanted to paint around a drain outside the school grounds, we would have to get permission from the local council.) Your Enviroschools Facilitator can help you liaise with your local council. We thought the whānau of Tangaroa and Hinemoana might like a taniwha to protect them. We had read the story of Ngake and Whataitai, the taniwha of the Wellington Harbour, so we thought of them when we were drawing. We drew so many designs that it was hard to decide which ones to use, so we asked parents and whānau to vote on the ones they thought were best. 9 To find out which paint would work best, we went to Resene, and they told us to use Sureseal Pigmented Sealer as an undercoat so that the design would last. There was a Kids Paint Catalogue with fun colour names that we could later use for a game. Then we selected our own colours from test pots. We looked at the weather forecast and chose our painting day. We set out cones around the area we were going to be working in, put a plastic cover over the drain, and taped it down just in case any paint spilt. We also had rags on hand to wipe up any spills. The teacher drew the design with chalk and we painted on the sealer. On painting day, we painted the first coat of our design in the morning and we painted a second coat in the afternoon. Then we invited the early childhood centre next door to see what we had done, and we talked to them about why we thought it was important. They thought it was important too and came to do a stream clean-up with us as another way of keeping pollutants out of our waterways. Painting on the sealant Showing our friends Look at the finished version! See Appendix 2 for all our practical tips for painting around drains. 10 Reflect on Change Pūmahara – Thinking back What we did at Kākāriki School We asked ourselves: How do we feel about what we have done? The teacher notices we talked about our art a lot and showed as many people as we could. We really liked what we did. It looked beautiful, and we felt proud that we had done it ourselves. What have we learnt about stormwater drains? We learnt that a drain is not just a drain – it is a pathway to the sea. So we don’t want anything to go in it that upsets the ecosystem and te whānau o Tangaroa and Hinemoana. How much difference have we made? Lots of people said how great our drain looked, but we were disappointed when our cleaner poured the detergent water from cleaning the floors straight down the drain we had painted! We realised that even though our paintings got noticed, we needed to talk to people and explain the message as well. We organised to meet with the cleaner to explain that the water needed to be tipped in the garden, where the ground “treats” the dirty water, or down the caretaker’s sink where the dirty water is “treated” at the waste water plant. What else could we do? We thought we would like to be on video telling people about our art and about stormwater drains. We thought we would like to get permission from the council to paint messages around some drains in the streets. Someone suggested that we could paint more drains if we used a stencil. The Enviroschools facilitators have a stencil that we can use if we don’t have time to design fancy artwork for all the drains we paint. We are going to talk to people in the school when we see them dropping rubbish so they know the rubbish might end up in the sea. We could design a flyer to send home to ask families to adopt a stormwater drain. We thought it would be good to hold a fundraising carwash on the grass at our school and have banners and flyers telling people why we need to do it on the grass and not on the road or driveway, where the water with all the oil and petrol that collects on cars will wash into our waterways. 11 Appendix 1: Curriculum Links Health and Physical Education Healthy Communities and Environments Rights, responsibilities, and laws; People and the environment Students will: Take individual and collective action to contribute to environments that can be enjoyed by all. The Arts Visual Arts Students will: Share ideas about how and why their own and other’s works are made and their purpose, value, and context Investigate visual ideas in response to a variety of motivations, observation, and imagination Share the ideas, feelings, and stories communicated by their own and others’ objects and images. Science Planet Earth and Beyond Interacting systems Students will: Describe how natural features are changed and resources are affected by natural events and human actions. Living World Life processes Students will: Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so that they can stay alive. Technology Students will: Planning for practice Outline a general plan to support the development of an outcome, identifying appropriate steps and resources. Brief development Describe the outcome they are developing and identify the attributes it should have, taking account of the need or opportunity and the resources available. 12 Appendix 2: Tips for Painting around Drains Arrange for the drain area to be waterblasted or use scrubbing brushes and water to clean the area of dirt or mould beforehand. Cover the drain before you paint so that if there is any spillage you don’t end up washing your own paint down the drain. Painting the concrete with a primer/sealer first will help the drain art last longer. However, it will add to the cost of the project. Also you may want the paintings to wear off so the issue can be investigated by another class in the future. Make sure any primer or sealer is completely dry before applying a top coat. Resene Concrete Primer (Environmental Choice approved) requires two hours minimum drying time before top coating. Top coats can be applied using a range of non-toxic, waterbased, exterior paint colours (test pots or bargin-bin mis-tints provide cheaper options). Note: Spray paints work best if you are using stencils. Never paint in the rain, and never paint on wet surfaces! Check the weather forecast to ensure dry weather is expected at least for the recommended drying time of the paint. It’s much more exciting and empowering for the students if they design the art themselves. If you want to paint a lot of drains, you could make a stencil out of some of the students’ art or use ready-made stencils you can borrow from the Enviroschools facilitators. Students may need old painting clothes and sunhats. Keep everyone safe around drains Teach everyone to be careful around stormwater drains, especially after rain. Never enter a stormwater manhole or pipe. Supervise students at all times – teach the students to use a buddy system to make sure everyone is safe around drains. Accidents happen – what to do in case of a spill Immediately turn up any overturned containers. Use absorbent materials, such as sand, newspaper, or rags, to block the path of the spillage to the stormwater drain. Clean up the spill with the absorbent materials and dispose of them safely with household rubbish. If you discover a contaminated waterway, advise Greater Wellington Regional Council by ringing the Environment Hotline: 0800 496 734 13 Appendix 3: Unit Plan INQUIRY TOPIC - Drains are for rain. Unit Description: An inquiry into how we can make a positive change to our local environment. We can make a difference. Focus: Stormwater pollution Big Question - How can we make a positive change to our local environment? Big Ideas: Whanaungatanga – Everything is connected: what we put in our drains will influence the life of the creatures in the sea. Drains are for rain and rain only. Biodiversity – We need lots of different plants and animals to keep everything healthy and to protect mauri. Kaitiakitanga – We have responsibilities: we can help prevent stormwater pollution. Curriculum Area Strand Level Objectives/Learning Outcomes Health and PE Healthy communities and Environments 1 Students will: - Take individual and collective action to contribute to environments that can be enjoyed by all. The Arts Visual Arts 1 Students will: - Share ideas about how and why their own and others’ works are made and the purpose, value and context. - Investigate visual ideas in response to a variety of motivations, observation, and imagination. - Share the ideas, feelings and stories communicated by their own and others’ objects and images. Science Planet Earth and Beyond 1 Interacting Systems Students will: - Describe how resources are affected by human actions. Science Living World 1 Life processes Students will: - Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive. 14 Key Competencies ● thinking ● using language, symbols, and texts ● managing self ● relating to others ● participating and contributing Enviroschools Key Areas and Principles Science Curriculum Key Areas People/Tangata Practices/Tikanga Place/Wahi Programmes/Kaupapa Ako Science Capabilities - Guiding Principles Learning for sustainability Empowered students Māori perspectives Sustainable communities Respect for diversity of people and cultures - Gather and interpret data Use evidence to support ideas Critique evidence Make meaning of scientific representations WALT: (We are learning to) Make a difference to our environment. TIB:(This is because) We want to make our waterways and oceans healthy for the things that live there. WILF: (What I’m looking for) Ways we can make a difference. Assessment: By the end of this inquiry, students will be able to: Share idea(s) about how what we do can have positive or negative impacts on our environment. Lesson Learning Experiences Resources Identify the Current Situation 1 Me and My Environment - raising awareness of the health of our environment. Read Books - Think pair share - What makes Tangaroa, Hinemoana, and the creatures that live there happy and sad? - What do we do with our wastewater? - Do we put anything yukky into the sea? Walk around school - Locate the drains and talk about where they go. - Look at what is in the drains 15 The Sea and Me by Bianca Begovich Abigale the Happy Whale by Peter Farrelly Josie (caretaker) to show children what’s in the drains Tarpaulin, gloves - Record what was in the drains Discuss how this makes us feel and how it might make Abigail and her friends feel. Brainstorm - How we feel about what is in our drains. iPad Display – pictures of local river and beach Speech bubble cutouts Explore the Alternatives 2 Brainstorm - What can we do to make a difference? http://www.resene.co.nz/comn/se rvices/paint_the_drains.htm PMI the ideas Discuss ways to get our message across. - Look at examples of lots of words versus pictures and short phrases. Take Action 3 Use Environmental Action Planner and Task Planner to pp 225 and 226 Enviroschools Kit plan painting drains Think about: who, what, when, where, how 4/5 Design images paper, pencils, jovis/ crayons Ngake and Whataitai the Taniwha of Wellington harbour for inspiration. 6 Display images in office Pens and stickies for voting and comments 7 Source paint and choose colours Resene shop Colour charts 8 - 10 Painting days - Chalk outlines - Parent to supervise small groups in half-hour blocks Painting clothes Cones, plastic, tape, chalk, brushes, undercoat, topcoats, paper towels, rags, bucket, newspapers 11 Pass on what we have learned. Visit from Early Birds - early childhood center Invite Early Birds – early childhood center Reflect on Change 12 Brainstorm and Think Pair Share - How do we feel about what we have done? - What have we learned about pollution and stormwater drains? - How much difference have we made? - What else could we do? 16 Paper for recording Appendix 4: Action Planner 17 Appendix 5: Task Planner Task Planner for “Drains are for Rain” Our vision is: A world with clean water and a happy whānau of Tangaroa and Hinemoana. Our action is: To paint visual messages around drains to make people aware of where they go. Task Person Responsible Key Dates Resources, People, and Budget Required Talk with other classes to see if they like the idea Ms Kaiya, Kiri, Skye, Jake, Anaru, Toby Week 3 Choose drains to paint Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 3 Get permission Kiri and Sue BOT meeting Week 4 Kiri and Sue to attend meeting Design images Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 4 Examples, pencils, paper, jovis/crayons Vote on images Ms Kaiya Week 4/5 Display on wall in office Parents and visitors tick and write comments Children encourage parents to vote Make a final decision Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 5 Count up votes Choose paint Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 5 Paint chart and have session for choosing Purchase paint Joe Week 5 Money Joe (Rihari’s dad) to go to paint shop with Rihari, Julia, and Sanchez. Choose painting days Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 5 Check weather forecast Gather together equipment Ms Kaiya Week 5 We will need: Painting clothes Cones, plastic, tape, chalk, brushes, undercoat, topcoats, paper towels, rags, bucket, newspapers 18 Make a time to go and visit classes Set up area Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 6 Josie (caretaker) to waterblast area Cone off the area and cover drain with plastic Stencil on design with chalk Class photographer to take photos Paint Joe and Ruma Rua Week 6 Joe with 6 students at a time – half hour rotations Primer session – 1 hour (Sureseal Pigmented Sealer) Painting 2 sessions – 2 coats and details Class photographer to take photos Clean up Joe and Ruma Rua Week 6 Buckets and water to wash brushes Paper towels to wipe off excess paint Pour dirty water onto grass outside the shed Thank you letters to helpers Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 7 iPads Reflect Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 7 Class discussion Celebrate Ms Kaiya and Ruma Rua Week 7/8 Invite Early Birds from the early childhood center next door and other classes to come and look. Tell them about the message behind our art work. 19 Appendix 5: Supporting resources ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Begovich, Bianca. 2014. The Sea and Me. Wellington: Ann Neville. Enviroschools Kit – All Enviroschools will have one of these. If you’re not from an Enviroschool and you would like to explore the Enviroschools resources more thoroughly please talk to your local facilitator. Farrelly, Peter. 2006. Abigale the Happy Whale. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Fletcher, Lauren. Rusty’s Big Adventure! Hamilton: Hamilton City Council. (Downloadable at: www.hamilton.govt.nz/ourservices/water/stormwater/Documents/Rusty%E2%80%99s%20Big%20Adventure.pdf) Freddy the Fish Teaches about Stormwater. (YouTube clip at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v+jjPfLhJbdc0) Greater Wellington Regional Council. 2011. Turning on the Tap. Wellington: Greater Wellington Regional Council. (This guided teaching resource uses an integrated approach to teach students about water use – download it at: www.gw.govt.nz/turning-on-the-tap/ or request a hard copy at: [email protected]) Kahukiwa, Robin. 2009. The Forgotten Taniwha. Auckland: Penguin Books. Wairama, Moira. 2011. The Taniwha of Wellington Harbour. Auckland. Penguin. Waitakere City Council and Te Kawerau a Maki Trust. 2006. Guardians of the Mauri: Ngā Kaitiaki o te Mauri (Copies of this resource are available from your Enviroschools Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui facilitator. Information is also available from Auckland Council at: [email protected]) General background reading ● ● ● ● ● Healthy Water (This is an Enviroschools theme-area booklet. All Enviroschools will have one of these. If you’re not an Enviroschool, please talk to your local facilitator if you would like to explore the Enviroschools resources more thoroughly.) Keep It Clean: Preventing Stormwater Pollution. (An information booklet produced by Wellington Water. Download it at: http://wellingtonwater.co.nz/about-us/publications-and-links/) Save the Drain for Rain (General information about stormwater at: www.gw.govt.nz/save-thedrain-for-rain/) WaiCare Book 7: Clean Up Your Act (This book takes a look at our daily activities, whether at home, at school, or at work and points out what we can do to protect our environment. Download it at: www.waicare.org.nz/Files/7%20-%20Clean%20Up%20Your%20Act.pdf) WaiCare Book 8: Taking Action (This book provides practical ways to improve water quality, including stencilling stormwater drains. Download it at: www.waicare.org.nz/Files/8%20%20Taking%20Action.pdf) Unit plans ● ● ● Dunedin City Council. Stormwater in Dunedin (Unit Plan). Download it at: www.dunedin.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/143326/Stormwater-unit-plan.pdf Hamilton City Council. Fish on Drains: The Kokopu Challenge. Download it at: www.hamilton.govt.nz/our-services/environment-andhealth/smartwateruse/Documents/Curriculum%20Resource%20for%20Schools.pdf Kāpiti Coast District Council water education units for schools (A set of water education resources for local early childhood centres, schools, and colleges). Download them at: 20 www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/services/A---Z-Council-Services-and-Facilities/Water/WaterEducation/Water-Education/ 21