FISH ON DRAINS - The Kokopu Challenge
Level 2-4
The environmental issue:
Have you ever wondered how our streams, rivers, beaches and other waterways get polluted?
Have you noticed the silver fish on storm water catchpits (drains) around the city and wondered what they were for?
Fresh, clean water is a relatively rare resource. Every living thing needs water and life is shaped by water. People place different
values on water and how we use it. Due to people’s actions, waterways are becoming contaminated by a range of different
pollutants. Unlike the water that goes down drains into waste water systems (sewers), water that flows into storm water drains is
not treated or filtered for pollutants. This water flows into natural waterways and ends up in our rivers and the ocean. Water quality
and ecosystems are affected. Everything entering a storm water drain other than pure rain water is a potential contaminant that
may degrade water quality. There are a number of actions we can take to prevent this problem and make our community more
sustainable. Remember stormwater drains are only for rain!
Find out more about what the silver fish on the drains around Hamilton represent.
Why are they there? Why are they important?
The fish is our native giant kokopu. They travel up the Waikato River as small fish and live
in some of the gully streams in Hamilton.
'Fish on Drains', Council's campaign addressing water quality in fresh water urban
streams, highlights that the purpose of stormwater drains is to remove surface water
from the roads directly to the river.
Stormwater drains (or catchpits) differ from waste water drains, where the water is
cleaned at the Waste Water Treatment Station before it is discharged.
Along with this surface water goes anything it is contaminated with: oil, cleaning
detergents, cigarette butts, discarded plastic wraps and other rubbish. These pollutants
are discharged into streams through the stormwater outfalls. If we continue to wash
pollutants into our streams through our stormwater, the survival of fish and other stream
life may be threatened.
The Kokopu challenge will encourage students to follow the action learning cycle to explore their local stormwater system, observe what is
happening, look at ways that they can make difference and plan a means of taking action for waterways care.
Aims:
The students will:
Build a knowledge and understanding of the environment and the impact of people of it;
Develop skills to identify, investigate, problem solve and report regarding environmental issues;
Build a sense of responsibility through participation and action as individuals, or members of groups to address environmental issues.
Investigate the water cycle and our connection with it.
Identify where water in our community comes from and how people and other living things use it.
Understand the difference between different types of water – natural, storm and waste water systems.
Take on the challenge of following the stormwater journey from your school to the sea.
Learn about the places that it travels through and the problems that can result if the wrong things make their way into the system.
Make a positive difference by taking action
Key Questions for Inquiry
Where does water come from? Where is water found in our community? Is all water the same?
What is healthy water? What is storm water? How is it different to waste water?
What happens to water in these systems?
What can be the consequences of human actions on the quality of storm water?
How does storm water quality affect the ecosystems around us?
What alternatives can be found to conserve and look after water?
What positive steps can our students identify to make positive environmental change for their future well being?
How can these contribute to the well being of our school community?
Conceptual Understandings
The students will develop understanding of:
water quality – the importance of healthy water to support ecosystems in our waterways and catchments
the differences between storm water and waste water
the structure and purpose of storm water drains- Where do they come from and where do they go? What is their function?
pollutants found in storm water drains - What are they and where do they come from?
the effects of pollutants on stream life – How are ecosystems affected? What are the environmental costs?
small amounts of pollutants - Critical numbers
the importance of keeping our drains clean – How can this be achieved?
the impacts of storm water pollution at home – What do we need to be aware of and what actions can be taken?
the importance of personal and community commitment and action to improving storm water quality
Vision
Values
Education for Sustainability
provides opportunities for our
young people to become
Confident, Connected,
Actively Involved Lifelong
Learners.
Excellence – overcoming challenges and aiming high
Innovation, inquiry and curiosity – finding out more and
exploring alternatives for change
Diversity - respecting and acknowledging different points
of view
Equity - fairness and social justice
Community and participation -for the common good
Ecological sustainability – care and responsibility for the
environment
Integrity – honest, responsible and accountable
Education for
Sustainability
Learning Outcomes:
Key Competencies
Thinking
organise, plan, and implement an environmental project identifying the causes and consequences of environmental
problems
compare, contrast and evaluate information to make connections and generalisations
identify possible solutions
Using language, symbols and texts
collect information from a range of sources
estimate, calculate and interpret information
create texts to record and present ideas, using language and texts appropriate to different learning areas
Managing self
be resourceful, enterprising and able to make plans and manage projects
explore strategies to overcome challenges
explore alternatives and take action for change
use tools and materials safely and efficiently
Relating to others
express views and ideas, recognise different points of view, listen, and negotiate
Participating and contributing
communicate ideas, and share knowledge with the wider community
identify community members who are able to support with knowledge or skills to work together on action
make connections with others and contribute ideas as a group member
develop a sense of belonging and confidence to participate within new contexts
work co-operatively and collaboratively with others in a project and demonstrate ability to compromise, negotiate
and collaborate
Students will develop learning
in:
Participation and Action
Develop a sense of
responsibility through
participation and action as
individuals (and small
groups) to address the issues
and effects of storm water in
the community.
Make choices about possible
actions and justify these
choices.
Principles
Education for Sustainability places students at the
centre of teaching and learning.
It challenges and engages them.
It is forward looking - allowing students to explore
alternatives and take action for the future.
It is an inclusive pedagogy that affirms New Zealand’s
unique identity.
Achievement statements that could be used as a focus for this Education for sustainability context:
Level 2
Outcomes:
Discover the issues
relating to water quality
and how it affects life
living in our waterways.
Science
Life Processes
Recognise that all living things have
certain requirements so that they
can stay alive.
Ecology
Recognise that living things are
suited to their particular habitat.
Earth Systems
Explore and describe natural
features and resources.
Consider how people’s
values and actions
impact on our local
environment.
Raise awareness and
sensitivity to the issues
of maintaining water
quality in our
community.
Social Sciences
Interacting Systems
Describe how natural features are
changed and how resources affected
by natural events and human
actions.
Level 3
Ecology
Explain how living things are suited to
their particular habitat and how they
respond to environmental changes,
both natural and human-induced.
Earth Systems
Appreciate that water, air, rocks and
soil, and life forms make up our planet
and that these are also Earth’s
resources.
Interacting Systems
Investigate the water cycle and its
effect on climate, landforms and life.
Level 4
Ecology
Explain how living things are suited
to their particular habitat and how
they respond to environmental
changes, both natural and humaninduced.
Earth Systems
Develop an understanding that
water, air, rocks and soil, and life
forms make up our planet and that
these are also Earth’s resources.
Interacting Systems
Investigate the water cycle and its
effect on climate, landforms and life.
Understand how places influence
people and people influence places.
Understand how people view and use
places differently.
Understand that events have causes
and effects.
Understand that people have social,
cultural, and economic roles, rights
and responsibilities.
Understand how people make
decisions about access to and use of
resources.
Understand how consumers exercise
their rights and responsibilities.
Understand how the status of Māori
as tangata whenua is significant for
communities in New Zealand.
Understand how early Polynesian and
British migrations to NZ have
continuing significance for tangata
whenua and communities.
Understand how formal and
informal groups make decisions that
impact on communities.
Understand how people participate
individually and collectively in
response to community challenges.
Investigate, share and
communicate ideas to
raise awareness of the
issue in the
community.
Health and Physical Education
Promote knowledge and
understanding about
where water comes
from and how we need
to value it as a resource
for people and other life.
English
Consider ways that as
active citizens you can
take action to improve
your community’s
environment and help to
make it more
sustainable now and in
the future.
Societal attitudes and values
Explore how people’s attitudes,
values and actions contribute to
healthy physical and social
environments.
Community resources
Identify and use local community
resources and explain how these
contribute to a healthy community.
Rights, responsibilities, and laws;
People and the environment
Contribute to and use simple
guidelines and practices that
promote physically and socially
healthy classrooms, schools, and
local environments.
Societal attitudes and values
Identify how health care and physical
activity practices are influenced by
community and environmental factors.
Community resources
Participate in communal events and
describe how such events enhance the
well-being of the community.
Rights, responsibilities, and laws;
People and the environment
Plan and implement a programme to
enhance an identified social or physical
aspect of their classroom or school
environment
Societal attitudes and values
Investigate and describe lifestyle
factors and media influences that
contribute to the well-being of
people in New Zealand.
Community resources
Investigate and/or access a range of
community resources that support
the well being and evaluate the
contribution made by each to the
well being of community members.
Rights, responsibilities, and laws;
People and the environment
Specify individual and collective
responsibilities and take collective
action for the care and safety of
other people in the school and in the
wider community.
Listening, Reading, Viewing,
Speaking, Writing, Processing
Listening, Reading, Viewing, Speaking,
Writing, Processing
Listening, Reading, Viewing,
Speaking, Writing, Processing
Select and use sources of
information, processes and
strategies with some confidence to
identify, form and express ideas.
Integrate sources of information,
processes and strategies with
developing confidence to identify, form
and express ideas.
Integrate sources of information,
processes and strategies confidently
to identify, form and express ideas.
IDENTIFYING THE ISSUE
1. What do the students know about water?
Discuss as a class what you already know and understand about water. Think about ways to present this information.
Where can you find water in the environment? What different forms can it take?
What different types of water do you know?
Where are places that we find or source water? Where does this water come from?
Where can water be found in and around the school and local community?
Why water is important?
What does it give to you?
Who/What needs water and why?
2. What can we observe?
Identify different uses for water in your home, school and community.
Take photos of different types of water and places where we find water in your environment.
Where are places that we find or source water in or near the school? Which momo wai or types of water
can you find?
Where does this water come from? Where is it stored or caught? Can you observe dry, wet or damp
places in the school grounds?
Can you smell or hear water?
How do we use water? What else needs water in our environment?
What happens to water in the school environment? Where does water go?
Take samples of different types of water. Are they the same? What do you notice?
Which water is safe to taste and touch?
Suggested Experiences:
See activities from Waterways- How
Rivers and Streams Work
Building Science Concepts (1)
Making a Rainstorm
Make a Water Bracelet
How Fresh is Fresh
Ngā Momo Wai – Types of Water
Water Race
Stormwater Maze
Water Web
Enviroschools Kit: Water for Life
Reflect:
How much do we know about water?
Do different people have different
ideas and values about water?
Is water easy to find in the school?
What further questions do you have
about water?
3. What can we learn?
Water catchments
Check out places where water leaves the school, path or road. Consider safety requirements if leaving the school grounds.
Discuss:
What happens in a natural ecosystem when it rains e.g. forest? What happens to water in your school/ home/ community when it rains?
What landforms help water to move from one place to another?
What happens in the country, towns and cities?
Where does the water go when you’ve used it? Are there places that water might run away to other places? How does water move?
Discuss drains and how they are constructed.
Why do we need stormwater systems?
Stormwater drains vs. waste water drains
Find out why stormwater drains are important. Investigate how the stormwater systems work.
What is
stormwater?
Use the Hamilton City Council website www.hamilton.co.nz to answer questions such as what are
stormwater drains designed for? How is this different or similar to what goes into the sewage
system? What goes down you local stormwater drains? Think about how you can identify these
materials.
You may find a visit to the waste treatment facility useful. How is this different or similar to
what goes into the waste water system?
Fish on Drains
Go for a walk around your school and neighbourhood and see if you can identify any drains
or catchpits. Take photos of these. What do you see inside them?
Find out what the “Fish on Drains” icon means. These are the silver aluminium fish.
Plot on a map the location of stormwater drains in your local environment. Note if they
have the “Fish on Drains” label or not.
For help try using the following resources:
Hamilton City Council website www.hamilton.co.nz and Water booklet (p 18). This resource may
be available in your school. An electronic version is archived on the Hamilton website.
Environment Waikato ‘Rivers and Us’ resource: Waste water systems www.ew.govt.nz
Plotting
Use information from Hamilton City Council and the internet to map the journey of water from
your school to the sea. Where do the stormwater drains lead?
Plot on a topographical map the catch pits I_I within a 200m radius of your school.
Note those that already have an aluminium kokopu icon attached (kokopu hiriwa).
What are the names of the waterways that it passes through?
Urban development such as roads,
buildings, car parks and other recreation
facilities create large areas of hard surfaces
which rainwater cannot penetrate. When it
rains the water that collects and runs off
these impervious surfaces is called stormwater runoff.
Stormwater runoff can contain materials
that have been washed off the ground,
roofs and streets. The quality of
stormwater and effects on the
environment differs depending on where
the stormwater has drained from.
Stormwater and wastewater systems are
quite different:
Stormwater - often goes directly into
natural waterways including the
Waikato River
Wastewater - is substantially treated
before it reaches waterways
Identifying Biodiversity
What might live in the waterways around your school community?
Up the Creek: Learn how fresh water supports life by visiting this bilingual online resource by the Department of Conservation
http://www.biodiversity.govt.nz/kids/.
Name as many plants, fish, birds and insects you can that might come in contact with “your”
water. Consider the conditions and resources they need to survive.
Discuss with your class the idea of biodiversity, interdependence (whanaungatanga) and
How these concepts relate to the water journey.
Create a food web or relationship diagram to identify these relationships.
For help try using the following resources:
Water is the Thread, How Living Things Use Water Enviroschools Kit: Water for Life
Environment Waikato/Limnological Society information posters, Landcare Research, and
school resources.
Pollutants – Identifying the consequences
Find out what problems happen when pollution or waste enters a stormwater drain.
Identify the types of materials that may create pollution.
What types of materials create pollution? Where might they come from?
How do they enter the water?
What are the effects of these?
Other scenarios to think about:
When you tip dirty water down a drain think about what’s in it.
Does it contain chemicals, oils, detergent, or litter?
Gather information and monitor the cleanliness of your local waterways.
Take photographs of your local drains. These might be useful to use to make posters
or a PowerPoint presentation to raise awareness in your community.
Washing a car at home
Washing paint brushes over the stormwater drain
Pesticide spray equipment rinsed into the drain
Useful resources to find out more:
Read “Rusty’s Adventure”, a resource written
by Lauren Fletcher which describes the
effects of stormwater pollution on freshwater
systems.
Use the cartoons in the Fishy Tales from the
River (HCC) series to identify other materials
that are pollutants.
Use the Guardian’s of the Mauri DVD. Visit
the EMAP website at www.emap.rsnz.org for
loads more classroom resources, and if doing
waterways work it is highly recommended
that you sign up for the National Waterways
Project database. They also have wonderful
biodiversity cards available for free which are
fantastic!
Environmental Monitoring and Action Project
(EMAP): EMAP is LEOTC funded and is the
national schools waterways education
programme.
Check out resources available through the
Seaweek campaign. Visit the website at
www.seaweek.org.nz for ideas, and check out the
teaching resource ‘Swimming in the Plastic Sea’.
You could follow the journey of the Waikato to
see where everything that enters it through
Hamilton’s stormwater system ends up.
Floor-cleaning water emptied into the drain
Discarded cigarette butts
Dog poo
Stormwater drains
are only for rain!
What are the consequences for water quality and biodiversity?
What are some of the problems that exist along the way?
Where will the “waste” go and what will it affect?
How will our friend the Kokopu fare?
Complete a Consequence Wheel to show the effects of pollutants entering the water.
A consequence wheel supports students to think reflectively and creatively by encouraging them to
consider a range of possible ‘consequences’ to this issue.
An example of a Consequence Wheel can be found on
http://efs.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources-and-tools/Consequence-Wheel.
Discuss these consequences in relation to the environmental, social, cultural and economic aspects of sustainability.
REFLECT: What changes need to be made? What further questions do the students have? What do they think and feel about the issue now?
EXPLORING ALTERNATIVES
What have actions can be taken?
Read the School Journal article “Blue Fish on the Footpath” by Pat Quinn and Westmere School 1992:2.
Consider the purpose of drain markers and the role they play in raising public awareness to the issue.
Use the internet to search for more information. Consider the search words and phrases you might use e.g. “clean water”, stormdrain markers”.
What ideas can you use to help your school community?
Find out more about what happens in your local community to prevent or support events such as a hazardous waste spill.
TAKING ACTION
Steps for taking action
Brainstorm ways that you and your family and friends can make a difference.
Consider ways that you can raise awareness to the issue of waste entering stormwater drains.
What personal actions can you and your family take to make a difference at home, at school and in the wider community?
What would you change if you could? How could these changes happen? Can the students take a role or responsibility to make these changes?
Use a decision making matrix to support your students to support the decision making process.
Visit http://efs.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources-and-tools/Decision-Making-Grids
Decide on an action that you will take. Consider who else needs to be involved and steps that need to be taken.
Plan what you will need to do using and action planner from the ES kit or visit http://efs.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources-and-tools/Action-Planner.
Take action! Remember to take photos or a video so that you have a record of your action.
Some suggestions for action might be:
contacting Hamilton City Council to get silver drain markers for your local drains. Contact Gavin Pooley (HCC) to glue fish on unmarked drains
conduct a local stream investigation
contact Andrea Soanes at Environment Waikato [email protected] if you wish to visit an urban stream to investigate, measure and monitor.
stencil drain markers in your school and community
adopt some drains to care for and monitor their health. Remember to use environmentally friendly products.
raise awareness about the issue in the community and educate others
REFLECT ON CHANGE
Think about what you had planned to do. Were you successful? If so why? What went well?
If not, consider what you might need to do differently to modify your action so that you can be successful.
What changes and benefits have come about through the action you have taken?
Explain what you have done and what changes it makes.
Share your learning with others. It is really important to think about how you can educate others. Consider ways of communicating the knowledge and
understanding of the issue to help inform others within and beyond your community.
Some suggestions might be:
write a news article for your school or community newsletter or newspaper
share a video or PowerPoint presentation on your school intranet or on Youtube.
develop a set of guidelines or safety ideas for safe water use at home or at school. Share these with your community.
Use the cartoon fish images supplied to create an educational dialogue.
Reflect on the difference your action makes.
Celebrate your achievements.