Access to fresh water is a basic human need. South Australia is the driest state, in the driest continent. As such, young school students need to appreciate the preciousness of the resource, understand its properties and live their lives using it responsibly and ethically.
Assisting children to understand the importance of water for the functioning of healthy ecosystems is the key mission of Water Literacies. We live within ecosystems, not outside of them. And it is from these ecosystems that we meet our material, aesthetic and spiritual needs. Three key values – quality of life, human solidarity, and ecological sensibility (Raskin, 2006) – as well as a sense of global citizenship, need to permeate educational systems in order to mould our political, social, and economic institutions towards a positive future. Education needs to prepare young people for current and future challenges. One starting point towards achieving this goal is for primary teachers and their students to become involved in interdisciplinary fresh water based environmental projects (e.g. Comber, Nixon & Reid, 2008).
Louv (2008) and Suzuki (2010) have written about the importance of connecting young children to the natural world. Their research shows that spending time in wild spaces and places develops an inherent affinity to the natural world which carries over to influencing decisions about protecting the environment and behaviour. Being able to identify freshwater macroinvertebrates, analyse water quality and understand what human behaviour contributes both positively and negatively to the natural environment are all fundamental educational outcomes for primary school students. The critical role of technology, future scenario writing, knowledge of ecosystems and humans’ role are key aspects of an education that prepares students for the challenges of the future.
The vision of Water Literacies, developed from the Fresh Water Literacies project (2018), provides teachers and their students with the resources and inspiration to produce effective transdisciplinary fresh water based environmental projects in and beyond the classroom.
