In Schools
Learn about frogs, stormwater and measuring river health, funding for projects to protect river and creek health, youth conferences and drain stencilling.
Frog Census
Volunteering in the twice-yearly Melbourne Water Frog Census will teach students about Melbourne’s frogs and show them how these animals can be an indicator of healthy rivers and creeks.
The Frog Census in Schools Teachers Guide is a step-by-step guide. It has suggested activities to engage students in frog monitoring tasks while they learn about the valuable role:
- Frogs have in our environment
- Students can play in monitoring and conserving frogs.
Stormwater Education Resource - It’s ACE
The Active Catchment Education Model (ACE) is an interactive stormwater education resource to help educate schools, businesses and community about stormwater and the impact it has on our rivers, creeks and bays.
Raingardens in Schools program
Our ‘Raingardens in Schools’ program provides a hands-on way to educate and involve students and their parents. It has a focus on the practical things that we can do to reduce pollution in our rivers and creeks.
Schools in the lower Yarra catchment applied for a Melbourne Water grant to build a raingarden in their school grounds to help clean up stormwater before it reaches the Yarra. In collaboration with teachers, Melbourne Water also delivered a dedicated stormwater education program for the school community.
Applications for the Raingardens in Schools program are now closed.
Learn more about raingardens including how to create your own with a step-by-step guide.
Waterwatch - Port Phillip and Westernport region
Schools can learn more about their local waterways by participating in the free Waterwatch education program, which teaches participants how to measure river health.
Drain Stencilling
Schools can help reduce litter in local rivers and creeks by volunteering for drain stencilling in their neighbourhood or school grounds.
Young Watercare Grants
Schools and youth organisations across Melbourne can apply for funds under the Melbourne Water Young Watercare Grants program to undertake projects to protect the health of rivers and creeks.
Grant application forms and guidelines can be downloaded from the Landcare website. Details are also available by calling Landcare Australia on 1800 151 105.
River Health Youth Conferences
We are working with Fire Starter to run our second annual river health youth conference. The event will be held over two days allowing over 300 students to share their ideas and increase their knowledge of river health. This year the conference will again coincide with World Environment Day (5 June).
In 2007, over 360 students and teachers converged on the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne for World Environment Day to discuss the value, history and health of the Yarra River and ways to protect and improve our iconic river.
The conference gave students the opportunity to research and learn about river health issues in a hands-on way, before presenting their findings to their peers at the conference.
This was the first metropolitan version of the enormously successful International River Health Conference, held biannually in Mildura since 1999.