TITLE: Year 5’s let me ask... Can you catch water?

Introduction: Wasting water is one of human’s biggest flaws. On Earth, each year, humans put roughly
17 trillion liters of water back down the drain that could be recycled and reused in other areas! If we can
reduce how much water goes down our drains, in all areas of our school, maybe we can reduce the
amount of water is wasted each year.

Brief: The student’s task is to firstly identify an area of the school that does not actively recycle water,
such as the canteen or a drink fountain. Secondly, they are to design and build a tool (bucket like object)
that can catch the water, before it enters the drain, to be recycled into other areas of the school, such as
the veggie garden or toilets.

Generating Designs:

Let the students ask themselves these questions – they can use the information gathered from this
survey to help design their tool. They are also allowed to ask other students opinions to compare them
to their own and build on their knowledge.

What area of the school are you going to collect your Greywater from?

How can you seamlessly implement your tool to collect the greywater?

Can you work with someone else and put the best parts of your designs together?

Where will your grey water end up? Is it being put to good use?

What materials will with-stand the environment?

What materials will be able to do the task the most sufficiently?

Project Specifications:

These are the guidelines for the students to follow when in the design and planning process of this task.

They will have two lessons to design and build the tool, which they may choose to do with a partner or
in a group of 4.

The materials must be recycled and able to withstand being outside in constant contact with water.

They must make sure the design does not come in the way of people or cause any safety hazards.

There is no minimum or maximum amount of greywater the tool can hold; they just have to make sure
that they are thinking of how often they will need to empty it and how easy/ difficult it may be to carry.

Project Management:
Lesson 1: What is Grey Water? Where do you find it at home and at school?

Lesson 2: What can we do with grey water to limit our water use (sustainability)

Lesson 3: What plants and vegetables have the best outcomes with grey water? Which plants can we
use grey water for at home and in our school vegetable garden?

Lesson 4: How can we catch grey water? What places should we be collecting grey water from to waste
the least amount of water.

Lesson 5: Design your grey water catcher, where would you place it? How would you empty it, how
often does it need emptying, is it practical?

Lesson 6: Design your grey water catcher, where would you place it? How would you empty it, how
often does it need emptying, is it practical? PART TWO

Lesson 7: Build your grey water catcher

Lesson 8: Evaluation and Presentation

Evaluation:

Students at two stages throughout the task, after designing and after constructing their tool, are to ask
themselves the following questions. They can make edits to their tool and test it in a real-life
circumstance.

How much greywater can my tool hold? How often will it need to be emptied?

Can my tool successfully transport the recycled water from its source to where it will be reused?

Is the tool actively reducing the water consumption of the school? Is the greywater replacing water the
school is drawing from the ground/tap?

Presentation:

Once the tool is built and they have tested it within the school, they must prepare a 1-minute speech to
the class about their tool individually or with their group. They must explain where it will be placed in
the school or around their home, why they think that is a good place for it and how and where they will
transport it to be reused (such as the veggie patch, cleaning art supplies or watering the lawns). They
must explain how it will reduce the school’s water consumption, by eliminating the schools need of one
fresh water source from the ground or a tap. They must also include a short 5-8 second video of their
device in action

Time:

This task will be spread over the whole of Term 4. Each lesson will be between recess and lunch on a
Friday.