Help Smart Water celebrate UN World Water Day 2024 (UNWWD 2024) and enter your class to become water smart legends.
World Water Day is celebrated across the globe every year on 22 March. It’s all about appreciating water, learning more about it and reminding us that water is an important resource for us all, especially in Summer.
This years’ theme for United Nations World Water Day is Water for Peace.
When we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect – fostering harmony, generating prosperity, and building resilience to shared challenges.
We must act upon the realization that water is not only a resource to be used and competed over – it is a human right, intrinsic to every aspect of life.
This World Water Day, we all need to unite around water and use water for peace, laying the foundations of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow.
Get your class involved!
To celebrate the day, encourage your students to participate in the Smart Water Challenge. Available for all primary and intermediate schools in the Hamilton, Waipa and Waitomo districts.
The Smart Water Challenge includes:
- Introductory lesson setting the scene and preparing students for their Water Challenge (take home activity)
- Template for each student to create their own Tap Tagouts – this is a paper template that gets put around taps to remind you not to turn them on (done at end of lesson).
- Water Use challenge – take home activity.
- Eco-friendly DIY medal for each student to create their very own UNWWD 2024 medal to mark their participation in the Smart Water Challenge.
Will you take the ‘Smart Water Challenge 2024?’
The aim of the challenge is to use only a set amount of water for the evening or the day depending on the challenge your students choose.
By refraining from turning a tap on thoughtlessly each time you use water, participants begin to appreciate just how often we use our precious commodity and in turn value it much more, hopefully setting some lifelong habits and changing perceptions around water.
Students will experience how people make their decision about their water use according to how much is available, what our priorities are and how we can use water smarter.
Competition
Send in photos of your class participating in UN World Water Day 2024. Photos could be your class with their tap tagouts, participating in the challenge or your class all wearing their UN World Water Day medals.
This year there is an amazing prize. One lucky school will win a fully installed rainwater harvesting system. Rain will be collected from the roof and stored in two 250 litre barrels which can be used to water outside areas. The winning class will be shown how the rainwater system works and will be given an inspiring talk on water conversation. There is also smart water prize packs for two runner-up classes.
All teachers who register will get a Smart Water supporters kit containing one smart water drink bottle, flannels and shower timers.
To register for this challenge and to be-in-to win all you need to do is:
- register online
- complete the Smart Water Challenge Activity
- email photos of your class lesson or class with medals to Smart Water by Friday 5 April
Winners announced Friday, 5 pm, 12 April
If you have any questions or would like to let Smart Water know how you’re getting on, please email: hello@smartwater.org.nz.
Registrations are limited! Sign your class up now and start getting smart with water.
Related content
The Hub has extensive resources on water and freshwater, use these curations to explore further:
- Smart Water – a context for learning The Hub worked with the Smart Water team and we co-host many of the resources. Smart Water – a context for learning groups Smart Water resources into key science and teaching concepts that underpin water conservation.
- Rivers and Us – introduction – exploring how people use water, the effects on water quality and investigation and data collection to inform action.
- Tōku awa koiora – introduction – exploring the restoration of the Waikato River.
- Repo (wetlands) – a context for learning – exploring ecological and cultural values and taking action to understand, protect or restore local repo.
- Tuihonoa Te Reo o Te Repo – he kohinga rauemi pāhekoheko a Tuihonoa Te Reo o Te Repo hei āwhina i ngā kaiako ki te whakatītina i ngā ākonga kia tū hei kaitiaki mō ngā repo. E whai ana hoki kia tū tiketike mai te mātauranga Māori, mā roto i ngā mahi whakaora taiao.
- Freshwater resources – planning pathways – help for teachers, based on the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ report on the pressures, state and impacts of human activities on the freshwater environment in Our freshwater 2023.
- New Zealand’s freshwater fish – introduction – exploring our unique native fish, their habitats and suggestions on what we can do to help conserve this taonga (resources in te reo Māori and English).
- Lakes380 – Our lakes’ health: past, present, future – find out about the largest scientific study ever undertaken of lakes in Aotearoa.
For more resources, browse the wide range of content under our water or freshwater topics, remember you can use the filters.
