West Melton/Burnham Schools Environmental Problem Solving
A small
group of Moa students from West Melton and Burnham school met over 10 weeks on
a Monday from 1.00-2.30pm. The group decided that they wanted to look at the
pollution in the Selwyn District waterways. Our focus was also on the water
race outside the school which we went across the road to test the water and see
if it was poor, good, great or excellent. Our testing showed that our water
race was good.
We had to
map out the water systems in the Selwyn including the major river systems and
environmental problems.
As a group
we had to learn how to talk and complete tasks with each other as well as
sharing our ideas for solving different problems.
As part of
our problem solving we had to learn to consult with different people. After
talking to the teachers, we went in groups to the Local BP and Selwyn Community
Centre to ask Selwyn locals what they thought the consequences should be if you
were caught dumping or polluting in our water ways. Most of them said they
don’t really notice or look at our waterways. This was a big surprise to us as
we think people need to be educated about what is happening in the water.
After
carrying out our surveys the group went to the Selwyn District Council to talk
to Mr Woods about how we could stop people polluting our waterways. He said
that the Selwyn District is one the fastest growing areas in New Zealand. Mr
Woods also suggested that as the population grows we do need to find ways to
protect our waterways from pollution.
Once we had
put together all of our information and ideas for educating people about
looking after our water ways we presented this work to Mr Woods and Mrs
Jackson. Mr Woods has invited to share our presentations at a Selwyn District
Council meeting.
By Harry
T
