Year Five Waste Water Warriors

 

Today Year Five continued our community hero inquiry with a visit from Kathryn from Watercare.  She was focussing on how Watercare does an amazing job of dealing with our waste water.  Aren't we lucky that all our waste water just disappears down pipes?!

We began with a teacher vs. students game to identify all the ways water goes down a drain inside our buidlings.  Some ideas were - dishwashers, sinks, toilets, wet rooms, waste disposals and showers.

Next, we went back in time to discover how Maori desposed of there waste water by digging holes  far far away from the living areas.  We were surprised to hear that when the Europeans came they mixed up the waste water on Queen Street with the natural spring that was used for cooking, drinking and wshing.  This casued a typhoid outbreak. Gross!  To solve this problem the colonials created the job of a "Night Soil Collector", so people didn't tip their waste into the waterways anymore. When the population increased, pipes were dug under the ground to take the waste water away to treatment plants.

We love being able to flush our waste away, but we need to look after this system, so it will keep working.  Here's how:

- Only the 3 P's - pee, poo and (toilet) paper down the toilet

We watched the "Disgusting Fatberg Video".  It was disgusting. What did we learn?

- fat and waste solidifies into "fatbergs" that block the sewer and have to be broken up

- DON'T  put fat down your sink

- people that break up fatbergs get paid around the same amount as teachers

Our waste water goes to treatment plants.

1 The lumps bigger than 3mm (like lost toys) are taken out and sent to the dump

2 Reactor/Clarifiers that are 77m in diameter remove nitrogen with bugs that eat bacteria

3 Ultraviolet lamps kill viruses 

4 Gravity Belt Thickeners remove particles

5 Anaerobic sludge digesters break it down

6 Centrifuge spins out more waste

7 Inter-tidal ponds send it out to sea

8 Leftover biosolids are used to build land like at Puketutu Island

Lastly we conducted a water density experiment using water, salt, food colouring and plastic piping.

How will you protect our waster water network at home?

Year Three Water Saving Super Heroes

 Not only were Year 4 Road Safety Super Heroes today, they were also Water Saving Champions too!

Sarah from Watercare visited today.   The tamariki had lots of questions about where their water comes from and where it goes to. 

We discovered where the water in our taps comes from - The Waikato River, aquifers & dams.  Did you know the ground water is the cleanest?

We learnt how to be Water Saving Heroes by measuring the water that can be saved with some simple behaviours:

- turn off the tap when we brush our teeth or use a cup (20 litres can be wasted if the tap is left running)

- use the small button when we flush the toilet (Yes, the small button can be used for number twos. It takes 12 litres to flush the big button and just 7 for the small)

- fill the bath less (a full bath takes 200 litres of water)

- use your bath water on the plants or share your bathtime

- have a short shower (showers take 12 litres of water a minute)

Each tamariki are bringing home a shower timer to help them and their whanau be Water Saving Superheroes. Thank you Watercare!!

If we are careful with our water it's great for the environment as the water will stay in our dam lakes, aquifers and rivers.

Lastly we used our superpowers of problem solving and collaboration to create super fun water courses. The teams tried their best to move the maximum amount of water with the minimum amount of spillage. 

Thank you to Sarah and Watercare for a wonderful learning experience! 

Greenfingers Gang in the Garden

 

The Greenfingers Gang gives our younger tamariki a chance to show environmental leadership in our gardens.  This week, after they tipped the hot compost, they checked the tracker tunnel out out by the Eco Group. We were so excited to discover the peanut butter was gone and there were lots of prints.

When we went back to The Green Room we researched what had left the prints here: https://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/our-work/predator-free-2050/a-short-guide-to-identifying-footprints-on-tracking-tunnel-papers.pdf 

We decided they were left by a hedgehog.  These are pests as they eat native insects like weta, but we don't really want to trap them.

Next week we'll tip the compost as usual and put worm tea on the cabbages.

Year Six Learn the Importance of Estuaries and Wetlands for Protecting our Homes

 

Today, Year Six learnt about how our local estuary and wetlands protect us from flooding. First we discussed our experiences of heavy rain and flooding and read a slide show from DOC.

We conducted an experiment in the Mara Kai, which showed how much faster rain water flows over concrete than natural surfaces.  

Then, we  watched a video about how cities around the worldand especially in China, drained their wetlands, and are now spending billions to put them back in as sponge cities.  Lucky we never drained the Wakaaranga Creek!

Lastly we played Niwa Flood Challenge Game to learn how to make good choices as a home owner and community member in a future where flood events are getting for frequent.

What did you learn?

Lucy "Don't buy next to a river and if you do make changes so floods won't hit it.  Always look at the flood maps before you buy a house".

"Sponge Cities are human made to work like estuaries and wetlands to stop flooding" Renee

"Wetlands stop chemicals going into the sea" Brayden

"Don't drain wetlands to build houses" Alysia

"When I buy a house I won't buy next to a river" Angela

"Buy a house near grass and trees so the rain gets absorbed" Haniya

"Buy a house on top of a hill" Grace

"Don't live near water" Aileen

"Use your money wisely"

"Plant trees and build stop banks to protect against floods" Kaiden

Next time we'll look at the animals that live in our local estuary.

Eco Leaders Set Out Tracker Tunnels

 

Today, the Eco Group set out a tracker tunnel to monitor which pests might be in our Mara. Standby for the results!

Year Four Dive Into Te Kapa Moana

 Today Year 4 began their inquiry into The Hauraki Gulf.  After watching a wonderful video by the Young Ocean Explorers, we located the Hauraki Gulf on a map and saw that it's right on Sunnyhill's doorstep.  

We wondered:

David "How many sea animals live in the Hauraki Gulf?"

Koen "What is the biggest shark in the Hauraki Gulf?"

Hirva "Why is it called the Hauraki Gulf?"

Shiloh "What type of colour is the Gulf?"

Mila "How many types of whales live there?"

"How many types of sharks live there?" Leo

Ken "How close is Rangitoto to Auckland?"

Lucy "What species live in the Hauraki Gulf?"

Hirva "How many islands are there in the Gulf?"

David "How big is it?

Quinn "What types of fish are there?"

"What can we do there?" Hirva

"How old are the islands?" Arjun

"Do sea horses live there?" Azara

Nick "What is the deepest point?"

"Are there any manatees?" Chace

"Which mammals live there?" Alyssa

Ananya "What type of dolphins live there?"

Vincent "What jobs can you do in the Hauraki Gulf"

Himaru "How many orcas are there?"

Aiden "How many people visit?"

"How do octopuses produce ink?" Logan

Henny "What's the oldest sea creature"

Lastly we read a KCC magazine about the Hauraki Gulf wetlands and checked our comprehension with a Kahoot. Next time we are going to look at how we can keep the Hauraki healthy.

Year Five Autumn Gardening

 

Year Five pushed pause on our Sustainable Energy Inquiry to get gardening in the autumn sunshine. We weeded, composted, and planted cabbages. Thank you to Kings Plant Barn Botany for donating the cabbage seedlings. We can’t wait to eat them as part of our Matariki Feast!