Teacher
Turbidity Test instructions
This one page guide has been extracted from the full Field Manual for easy printing and sharing of the instructions for the Turbidity water quality test.
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Electrical Conductivity Test instructions
This one page guide has been extracted from the full Field Manual for easy printing and sharing of the instructions for the Electrical Conductivity water quality test. If your school/group uses an alternative EC meter use the following instructions; green EC meter / cream EC meter
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Reactive Phosphorus Test instructions
This one page guide has been extracted from the full Field Manual for easy printing and sharing of the instructions for the Reactive Phosphorus water quality test. If your school/group uses the alternative Low Range Phosphate test kit measuring phosphorus in parts per billion use these instructions.
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pH Test instructions
This one page guide has been extracted from the full Field Manual for easy printing and sharing of the instructions for the pH water quality test.
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Temperature Test instructions
This one page guide has been extracted from the full Field Manual for easy printing and sharing of the instructions for the Temperature water quality test.
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Richardson River’s Journey posters
These two posters are an excellent resource for staff and students to familiarise themselves with the Richardson River – it’s; source, path, reaches, catchment, major towns, history, most notable features, flora, fauna and users. The engaging format, stunning photos and user-friendly text makes it the perfect tool for teacher background, student-lead research and learning about an important waterway in the north central region.
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Re-snagging posters
These two posters are invaluable to explain the importance of in-stream woody habitat to native fish and explains some of the important work that is taking place in the lower Loddon River and the Little Murray River as part of the north central CMA’s native fish recovery plan. Features include great photos, fact files, information and an excellent diagram outlining the threats and values in a waterway that impact on fish health.
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Coliban River’s Journey poster
This poster is an excellent resource for staff and students to familiarise themselves with the Coliban River – it’s; source, path, catchment, major towns, history, most notable features, flora, fauna and users. The engaging format, stunning photos and user-friendly text makes it the perfect tool for teacher background, student-lead research and learning about an important waterway in the north central region.
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Water Birds of the Loddon River poster
This is a wonderful poster showcasing six of the most important native water bird species of the Loddon River. It features a map of the Loddon River and its catchment and fact files on six water bird species outlining; appearance, size, life cycle, habitat, diet, breeding, behaviour, calls and conservation status. Use the Natureblitz App to listen to calls and record sightings.
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Frogs of the Loddon River poster
This is a wonderful poster showcasing six of the most important native frog species of the Loddon River. It features a map of the Loddon River and its catchment and fact files on six frog species outlining; appearance, size, life cycle, habitat, diet, breeding, behaviour, calls and conservation status. Use the Natureblitz App to listen to frog calls and record sightings.
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Fish of the Loddon River poster
This is a wonderful poster showcasing six of the most important native fish species of the Loddon River. It features a map of the Loddon River and its catchment and fact files on six fish species outlining; appearance, size, life cycle, habitat, diet, breeding, behaviour and conservation status. Use the Natureblitz App to record sightings.
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Avoca River’s Journey posters
These three posters are an excellent resource for staff and students to familiarise themselves with the Avoca River – it’s; source, path, reaches, catchment, major towns, history, most notable features, flora, fauna and users. The engaging format, stunning photos and user-friendly text makes it the perfect tool for teacher background, student-lead research and learning about an important waterway in the north central region.
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Loddon River’s Journey posters
These three posters are an excellent resource for staff and students to familiarise themselves with the Loddon River – it’s; source, path, reaches, catchment, major towns, history, most notable features, flora, fauna and users. The engaging format, stunning photos and user-friendly text makes it the perfect tool for teacher background, student-lead research and learning about an important waterway in the north central region.
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Campaspe River’s Journey posters
These two posters are an excellent resource for staff and students to familiarise themselves with the Campaspe River – it’s; source, path, reaches, catchment, major towns, most notable features, flora, fauna and users. The engaging format, stunning photos and user-friendly text makes it the perfect tool for teacher background, student-lead research and learning about an important waterway in the north central region.
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Waterbirds Field Guide of the North Central region
This guide produced by North Central Waterwatch includes fact files on waterbird species; description, distribution, diet, calls, breeding, habitat and conservation status. Beautiful photos make it a great asset for birdwatching at any waterway.
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Habitat Survey Data Sheet
Use this data sheet on site or at school to record your habitat survey results. You can enter your habitat survey data online at the ‘Let’s Test and Record’ tab of this website.
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Waterbug Data Sheet
Use this data sheet on site or at school to record your waterbug data after sampling. You can enter your waterbug data online at the ‘Let’s Test and Record’ tab of this website.
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Water Quality Data Sheet
Use this data sheet on site or at school to record your water quality data each month. Make sure you enter your water science data online at the ‘Let’s Test and Record’ tab of this website.
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Fish Need Trees poster
This beautiful graphic illustrates the variety of ways that fish use trees in and beside waterways and why it’s essential we retain and replace them.
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Fish Need Healthy Rivers poster
This is a great poster highlighting the features of waterways that fish require for food, shelter, breeding and migration, from source to mouth.
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Waterbug fact sheets
Comprehensive fact sheets on a variety of bugs in each of the sensitivity categories including photos, sketches, life cycle images and information on size, appearance, habitat, diet, movement, predators, life cycles and other interesting facts
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Catchments activity matrix
Use this matrix as a springboard for learning in the remote learning environment (or anytime !). Engaging activities provide independent learning opportunities for students across all year levels (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) and catering to all learning styles (based on Multiple Intelligences). Activities are designed to use everyday materials and be as tech-free as possible. If there is a resource you need, links in the matrix will take you there.
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The Wimmera’s Flowing Tale video
Take a journey along the depth and breadth of the Wimmera River catchment. Produced in 2006, this short film is a fantastic look back at our river system. It focusses on how Wimmera CMA looks after the catchment and how they manage environmental water releases. Although many things have changed since this film was made, such as completion of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline and more security for environmental water releases, the themes in this flowing tale have stayed the same.
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River Detectives Field Manual
This is a copy of the Field Manual you receive a version of in your water quality test kit. If you lose your hard copy you can access it here. Be aware that this is the full manual – some pages may be irrelevant to you depending on the equipment you have and the region you are in.
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Water Quality Rating Charts
Numbers are just numbers until you work out what they mean. Use the regional water quality rating charts in the Field Manual to compare your readings for EC, turbidity, reactive phosphorus and pH to assess the health of your waterway. Or find your specific CMA region rating charts below; Corangamite CMA, Melbourne Water, North East CMA, North Central CMA, Wimmera CMA
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The Waterbug Shop
The Waterbug Shop was established as a better way for people to access equipment and resources for the sampling and identification of waterbugs.
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Bendigo Creek Citizen Science Project student presentation videos
In 2019 students of four primary schools along Bendigo Creek were asked to add their voice to the Reimagining Bendigo Creek project. A collaborative project lead by the City of Greater Bendigo, this project marks the beginning of a process of renewal, understanding and connection over many generations, which aims to create a healthier, more inclusive, connected and beautiful Creek that we all respect and value. After attending a workshop about the assets and threats of Bendigo Creek students were challenged to present their vision for a future Bendigo Creek and their innovative results were amazing ! View Huntly Primary School’s creative lego model presentation and Epsom Primary School’s engaging video as inspiration for your own student-led waterway championing project.
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Urban Stormwater brochure
This brochure produced by the Bendigo Urban Stormwater Program details the responsibilities of builders/renovators/land developers to manage runoff from building sites. Diagrams and captions clearly explain positive strategies to reduce impacts and demonstrate an example of a subdivision considering water-sensitive urban design. This is a useful resource for any region.
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Urban Stormwater poster
This poster is a fantastic resource to use demonstrate the impact of litter that can flow into a waterway with urban stormwater. It highlights the often unknown fact that only 10% of waterway litter is visible from the surface and a disturbing 90% will be hidden under the water. The Water Bug pictures could be placed on the poster to create discussion about how they (and other fauna) would be impacted by stormwater pollution and how this would impact on the entire food chain.
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Salinity Solutions poster
Print this coloured poster at A4 or A3 size for a great visual aid to discuss the features of a healthy catchment and the strategies to reduce salinity in dryland farming, irrigated farming and urban areas.
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Urban Stormwater Environmental Education Resource
The North Central CMA developed this package in 2002 and although it has links to the obsolete curriculum document CSF II, it is jam-packed with engaging cross-curricular activities to enhance student understanding of urban stormwater. Primarily aimed at Year 5 and 6 students the lesson plans and activities are easily adaptable to lower primary and lower secondary. Introductory content can be found by clicking the resource title above and lesson plans/activity sheets for each curriculum area can be accessed using the links here; English, SOSE, Science, Maths, The Arts, HPE, Extras Some lesson plans refer to photos on a CD. A selection of these photos are available here.
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Waterways Environmental Education Resource
The North Central CMA developed this package in 2002 and although it has links to the obsolete curriculum document CSF II, it is jam-packed with engaging cross-curricular activities to enhance student understanding of waterways. Primarily aimed at Year 5 and 6 students the lesson plans and activities are easily adaptable to lower primary and lower secondary. Introductory content can be found by clicking the resource title above and lesson plans/activity sheets for each curriculum area can be accessed using the links here; English, SOSE, Science, Maths, The Arts, HPE, Extras Some lesson plans refer to photos on a CD. A selection of these photos are available here.
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Salinity activity matrix
Use this matrix as a springboard for learning in the remote learning environment (or anytime !). Engaging activities provide independent learning opportunities for students across all year levels (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) and catering to all learning styles (based on Multiple Intelligences). Activities are designed to use everyday materials and be as tech-free as possible. If there is a resource you need, links in the matrix will take you there.
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Golden Perch Profile
Find out about Golden Perch and their distribution across northern Victorian waterways.
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Murray Cod Profile
Find out about Murray Cod and their distribution across northern Victorian waterways.
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North East CMA website
Find out what the North East CMA does and how they care for catchments in the region. Includes descriptions of the region and projects the CMA is undertaking to protect and enhance environmental values within the region.
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Melbourne Water website
Find out what Melbourne Water does and how they care for catchments in the region. Includes a myriad of education resources covering frogs, litter, stormwater, catchments, waterways and more. Some are specific to the Melbourne area but many are relevant to all regions.
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Corangamite CMA website
Find out what the Corangamite CMA does and how they care for catchments in the region. Includes descriptions of the region’s catchments and projects the CMA is undertaking to protect and enhance them.
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North Central CMA website
Find out what the North Central CMA does and how they care for catchments in the region. Includes great descriptions of rivers and wetlands in the region and projects the CMA is undertaking to protect and enhance them.
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Wimmera CMA website
Find out what the Wimmera CMA does and how they care for catchments in the region. Includes great descriptions of rivers/streams and wetlands in the Wimmera CMA region..
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Surveying Gurru (Lake Hindmarsh)
This documentary was created as part of National Reconciliation Week 2016 by Barengi Gadjin Land Council and Cooper Heritage Management to highlight cultural heritage survey activities on the iconic Lake Hindmarsh in western Victoria. Their findings help us understand how the area was traditionally used and the importance of Lake Hindmarsh in the past, present and future.
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Wimmera Water Short Stories
Our waterways are very special and mean something to each of us. In this series of three short stories the Wimmera CMA have been innovative and put the voices and stories of people in their region to the animated characters of the Fresh and Salty film. In Story 1 at the title link above, a tree (farmer) talks about his family being a guardian to the river over many generations. In Story 2 members of the community appear as a mosquito, fish and mollusc to tell how it feels to waterski on the river or sit beside it. In Story 3 an egret and fish share what the river means to the young and old.
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Wimmera River at Jeparit flows into Lake Hindmarsh
In September 2016 the Wimmera region enjoyed seeing many of their waterways flowing and lakes filling! The CMA filmed the breathtaking sight of Lake Hindmarsh from the air with the majority of the lake’s 139 square km surface area covered by water. Lake Hindmarsh is Victoria’s largest freshwater lake. Previously it filled after the 2011 floods but since then had been dry. It is a popular spot for camping, birdwatching, sailing and brings visitors from around the world. The lake also supports a diverse array of plants and animals including birds, frogs, fish and river redgums.
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Waterways for life – healthy rivers, healthy communities
The Wimmera River in Western Victoria is where many people start or end their days, socialise, gather and be part of community events.
In this story by the Wimmera CMA join marathon swimmer Tammy Van Wisse and Wimmera locals to see just how much people rely on healthy waterways for their own physical and mental health. Healthy rivers also keep communities vibrant and alive by bringing everyone together – whether it’s for a walk, a run, a paddle, special event, fishing or just a picnic.
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Finding Hope – Wimmera Platypus Surveys
The Wimmera CMA take you behind the scenes of their MacKenzie River platypus surveys in the Grampians. This footage was filmed during their 2019 autumn surveys. In the spring of that year they returned and filmed more beautiful footage of a male platypus.
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World Wetlands Day – A Wimmera Wetland video
To celebrate World Wetlands Day 2020 the Wimmera CMA zoomed in on Dock Lake near Horsham that received water for the first time in two decades in 2016. They recorded the great diversity and abundance of waterbirds that flocked to the lake, showing how adding water to wetlands can trigger a huge response from nature.
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The Wimmera – A Flowing Fish Tale video
This video produced by Wimmera CMA is a great example for all regions of how a healthy river that strikes the balance between the needs of plants, animals and people can build a vibrant community. It shows that strategies ensuring healthy fish populations boosts the enjoyment of the river by local and visiting anglers and sends the message that if you look after the river, it will look after you.
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Salinity Photos
These photos of salt-ravaged land, healthy land, restoration strategies and urban salinity can be used as a springboard for discussion, in conjunction with lessons in the Salinity Environmental Education Resource or with some of the activities on the Salinity Remote Learning Matrix.
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Salinity Environmental Education Resource
The North Central CMA developed this package in 2002 and although it has links to the obsolete curriculum document CSF II, it is jam-packed with engaging cross-curricular activities to enhance student understanding of salinity. Primarily aimed at Year 5 and 6 students the lesson plans and activities are easily adaptable to lower primary and lower secondary. Introductory content can be found by clicking the resource title above and lesson plans/activity sheets for each curriculum area can be accessed using the links here; English, SOSE, Science, Maths, The Arts, HPE, Extras Some lesson plans refer to photos on a CD. A selection of these photos are available here.
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Birdata App
Birdlife Australia’s easy-to-use app is a portable conservation tool allowing volunteers to leap into the colourful world of birdwatching and enter bird survey data. Analysis of surveys in Birdata feeds directly into the State of Australia’s Birds report series. These reports are the go-to guide on the status of Australia’s bird populations, designed to inform decision making on land management, and direct conservation and policy that affects Australia’s birds and biodiversity. You can also get involved in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count in October each year, a nationwide citizen-science event.
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Wild Pollinator website
The Wild Pollinator Count gives you an opportunity to contribute to wild pollinator insect conservation in Australia. Twice a year (April and November) the community is invited to count wild pollinators in the local environment and help build a database on wild pollinator activity. You can join in by watching any flowering plant for just ten minutes sometime in the count weeks.
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Kids Teaching Kids website
The Kids Teaching Kids Program raises awareness and drives action on local and global environmental issues, helping the next generation of leaders who will take collective responsibility for our future. By giving students the opportunity to present a workshop to others during Kids Teaching Kids Week or at one of the Kids Conferences, students see that they can have a positive impact on the world, starting in their own communities. You could consider having a group of students present at a KTK workshop or run a KTK- inspired event at your school with cross-age learning or by gathering with other non-River Detective schools.
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Junior Rangers website
Parks Victoria’s Junior Rangers website is a great resource with activity sheets and booklets found at the ‘Make and Do’ link. Topics are wide-ranging but River Detective related content includes; a river activity Booklet, pest animals, river red gums, pest plants and weeds, platypus and general activities related to nature studies that can be done at school, in backyards or at your water testing site.
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National Waterbug Blitz website
The National Waterbug Blitz is Australia’s first nationwide waterway monitoring event. Each year, Australians are encouraged to become ‘citizen scientists’ and investigate how healthy their local waterways and wetlands are, simply by exploring and identifying what waterbugs they contain. The type and number of waterbugs found in a waterway can tell us a lot about how healthy that waterway is. Find out how to get involved by heading to the website.
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Dhelkunya Dja: Dja Dja Wurrung Country Plan 2014 – 2034
The Dhelkunya Dja Country Plan is about reaffirming the aspirations and describing the future of the Traditional Owners of Dja Dja Wurrung Country.
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Aboriginal Victoria website
Aboriginal Victoria aims to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage, promote the advancement of Treaty and self-determination, and deliver programs to strengthen Aboriginal communities.
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Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI) website
The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated, or VAEAI, is the state-wide Aboriginal community-controlled organisation for education and training in Victoria.
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Marrung – Aboriginal Education Plan 2016 – 2026
Marrung is the Department of Education and Training’s strategy to ensure that all Koorie Victorians achieve their learning aspirations.
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Urban Water Cycle
People have changed the natural water cycle; buildings and pipes take water for drinking and remove sewage and stormwater. This is the urban water cycle, and in Melbourne is managed by Melbourne Water. At this interactive map, water warriors explain the role of each aspect of the urban water cycle. You can also use this link to check out a summary of the urban water cycle, learn about why Melbourne has some of the highest-quality drinking water in the world or find out why Greater Melbourne’s sewerage has provided Melburnians with world-class sanitation for over 100 years, protecting public health and the environment.
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Stony Creek Recovery Project
Learn about a multi-agency effort to recover the health of Stony Creek after the West Footscray warehouse fire on 30 August 2018.
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Nature Study & Nature Play activity matrix
Use this matrix as a springboard for learning in the remote learning environment (or anytime !). Engaging activities provide independent learning opportunities for students across all year levels (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) and catering to all learning styles (based on Multiple Intelligences). Activities are designed to use everyday materials and be as tech-free as possible. If there is a resource you need, links in the matrix will take you there.
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Enhancing Dandenong Creek
Melbourne Water’s ‘Enhancing Our Dandenong Creek’ project is taking an innovative approach to sewerage management and bringing the creek back to life. Although Melbourne based, this is a great case study to show students how urban water can be managed effectively. For more information go to Melbourne Water’s website
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Wonderful Waterbugs
You may like to use this activity sheet from Melbourne Water when completing a sampling activity – includes a space to sketch the bugs you find and profiles on five common waterbugs.
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Waterway Treasure Hunt
Use this activity sheet from Melbourne Water to hunt for the sights, sounds, smells and textures along a waterway near you. Draw other discoveries and reflect on how time spent at the waterway makes you feel.
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Waterway Hero activity sheet
Match pollutants with a strategy to avoid their impact to consolidate knowledge of stormwater pollution and its effect on waterways. This resource from Melbourne Water has relevance for all regions but bear in mind that in some regions our litter may not make it to the ocean as stated here.
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Puzzling Platypus activity sheet
Read some facts about the diet of a platypus then complete the maze from Melbourne Water to help the platypus return to her nest and babies in the creek bank. Perhaps students could calculate 25% of their own body weight and work out what foods they could eat to satisfy that quantity each day ?
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The Frog Lifecycle
A simple worksheet from Melbourne Water to review the stages of a frog’s lifecycle. Great to use as a reading comprehension activity.
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Caring For The Campaspe project video
The Caring for the Campaspe project is the first large scale on-ground works project to deliver river health improvements for the Campaspe River from its headwaters near Ashbourne to the Murray River at Echuca. Since 2012, the North Central CMA has been providing fencing, offstream watering, weed control and revegetation incentives to interested land managers on both public and privately owned along the river’s length. This video is a great example of the great outcomes that can be achieved when passionate groups work together to improve river health.
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River Detectives Program Achievements Report 2017-20
This report is a great summary of the goals/benefits of the River Detectives program, how it operates across the state and the level of participation by schools. It could be a useful resource to share with your staff or school community to explain and share the program.
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Exploring Surface Water Tension and Water Striders
This unit comprising of 6 lesson plans will develop student scientific inquiry skills while learning about water tension and how a water strider utilises water tension to survive.
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Mosquito Madness
The unit provides 5 lesson plans to allow students to understand the life cycle of mosquitoes, specifically their morphogenesis and the way the organism changes appearance throughout its lifetime. Other key topics include mosquito habitats, ecology and environmental impacts on the mosquito population.
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Waterbugs Higher Level Key
Closely observe the features of macroinvertebrates and use the questions on this key to work your way to an identification using the Agreed Level Taxonomy (ALT) method. For more info on ALT method, go to: thewaterbug.net
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Wetlands Habitat Activity Booklet
The resource contains six engaging activities for primary students to develop awareness around wetlands, wetland habitats and the importance of wetlands in our world.
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Waterbug poster
Use this poster as a field guide to identify waterbugs in your sample, understand the in-stream habitats they prefer and use the sensitivity scores to rate the health of your waterway. It can be laminated (or similar) and used with white board markers for longevity.
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How to enter data guide
This will help you to enter data into the website once you have been to site to collect it!
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How to run a waterbug session with kids
In this video Priya takes you through the key steps of how to sample and study macroinvertebrates (waterbugs) with your kids! Don’t forget to contact your local Catchment Management Authority to arrange a loan of macroinvertebrate equipment to run a sampling activity with your students.
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Water Bug Outlines
Use these bug outlines for colouring, collage, making posters/dioramas, classifying, making a food chain, as a starting point for research, etc.
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How to make a bug dial
Make your own bug dial so that you can look at individual bugs and the way they move, their tolerance, where they live and special features.
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Creating a frog friendly habitat
Find out all about how to create a frog friendly habitat
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Controlling carp fact sheet
Find out all about the National Carp Control Plan – informative and interesting!
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Salinity – fact sheet
Salinity refers to the movement and concentration of salt through the landscape. Find out more here!
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Algae fact sheet
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Stormwater fact sheet
What is stormwater? Where does it come from, where does it go and what can we do to help protect our waterways?
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Phosphorus – fact sheet
Your quick reference guide to all things phosphorus.
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Habitats near a waterway – fact sheet
Find out about the different habitats near and in a waterway and why they are important.
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What is the riparian zone? – fact sheet
The riparian zone is any land that adjoins, directly influences, or is influenced by a body of water. Find out what the values, threats and management concerns are.
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Blackwater Fact sheet
Find out about why water sometimes turns black!
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Woody Habitat Fact Sheet
Find out what woody habitat is and why it is an important part of waterways.
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Foam fact sheet
Find out how and why foam occurs in waterways.
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North Central CMA Catchment maps
The North Central CMA region is one of ten CMA regions of Victoria. This region has four catchments; Campaspe, Loddon, Avoca and Avon Richardson. These can be broken down further into eleven sub-catchments. Click the links below to find out which catchment/sub-catchment your town/waterway is in. See it from above and understand the way water flows in your area. Upper Loddon Map; Upper Campaspe Map; Upper Avoca River Map; Lower Loddon River Map; Lower Campaspe Map; Lower Avoca Map; Loddon West Map; Loddon East Map; Gunbower Map; Coliban Map; Avon Richardson Map
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Is your school a Resource Smart School?
If you are, by being a part of River Detectives you can tick off some extra areas in the Biodiversity module !
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Brain bending time fillers
Engaging activities to stimulate minds and consolidate learning in those idle moments in your classroom schedule
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Stormwater Education Manual
A comprehensive manual including teachers notes, lesson plans, activities, information and worksheets for upper primary and lower secondary students about urban stormwater sources, impacts and strategies.
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Fresh and Salty Booklet
This booklet complements the Fresh and Salty video with teacher notes and lesson plans
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City of Geelong- Stormwater Manual
Activities all about stormwater in Geelong! Get your local stormwater manual now to guide your lessons in the classroom.
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