Dams are well-known features of farming landscapes. They are also valuable natural assets.

ANU’s Sustainable Farms project works with farmers, land managers, NRM agencies, industry groups and Landcare towards a common goal: healthy farms, healthy farmers and healthy profits.

They offer a range of great resources: a farm dam poster, life in a farm dam activity sheet, the Enhancing Farm Dams guide and the farm dam planting guide.

For some great videos watch: Improving farm dams – a farmer’s perspective, life in a farm dam – after fire comes recovery and building a wildlife island on a farm dam.

If constructing or renovating a dam, for the farm dams technical guide click here.

• Activity Sheet, All, Guide/Activity booklet, Poster, Sustainable Agriculture, Video/Audio, Website,
• All Regions,

This colouring sheet features a variety of species that call our waterways home.  Importantly it shows some of our endangered small-bodied fish.  You can learn more about these fish in this video.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

A nature scroll is simply a long, narrow piece of paper used to record your responses to nature, in words and pictures.  It can be a portable, bite-sized alternative to nature journalling and a wonderful way for your students to engage with their local environment or make observations whilst at your adopted water testing site.  Make it scientific, make it artistic or both !

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Flora (plants), General, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Water Science,
• All Regions,

Students can use this activity sheet by our friends at Gippsland Water to fill in the gaps and name the water cycle processes then colour it in.

• Activity Sheet, Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Water cycles,
• All Regions,

While Easter is not an Aboriginal celebration, eggs were a big part of customary life and looking at how Aboriginal people used eggs is a great perspective for all age groups at Easter time.

The protocols around egg gathering took into consideration the sustainability of the species producing them. Eggs were respected as a source of life as well as nourishment for mob. Eggs would be collected in vessels weaved by Aboriginal women from the naturally available reeds and materials of the local area.

This Easter printable features the artwork of Darug Artist, Chloe Webb.

• Aboriginal Cultures, Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

Use this School Plan to start a conversation with colleagues delivering the River Detectives program in your setting.  This is a great template to use at the start of the year with lots of useful questions to promote thinking and space to document the approach you plan to take.

There is also a useful template for sharing your River Detectives data and experience with others at the end of a term/year.

• Activity Sheet, General, Teacher, Water bugs, Water Science,
• All Regions,

Use this simple template to challenge students to sit quietly outside and record what they see, hear and smell using words/sketches.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Flora (plants), General, Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

Be inspired by this video by central Victorian Trace Balla and start recording the things you see, hear, touch and smell at your local waterway or anywhere in nature.  You can also access her Nature Journalling for Little Ones video or Nature Journalling for Teens video.

Journal throughout a year and record the seasonal changes you observe.  This ideas sheet from Paperbark Writer will help get you started too !

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Flora (plants), General, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Video/Audio,
• All Regions,

Use this activity sheet to model a catchment with your hand; high points representing hills and wrinkles in your palm representing waterways.

• Activity Sheet, Catchments, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Story Book/Photo, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary,
• All Regions,

Use this template or use your own method to brainstorm all of the elements that exist within your catchment from natural features such as ranges, waterways, plants and animals to human features such as roads, towns, industry and agriculture and to the ways we enjoy and use the catchment; camping, bike riding, kayaking, sport, etc.

This exercise is a good introductory activity (after you’ve established what catchment you are a part of) to highlight all of the elements that need to be functioning well to maintain catchment health and how they are inextricably linked.

To extend this activity add arrows/captions to show cause and effect between elements; to demonstrate an unhealthy catchment with negative actions causing negative knock on effects; then compare to a healthy catchment where positive actions cause positive knock on effects.

• Activity Sheet, Catchments, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary,
• All Regions,

Use this bingo sheet and play respective calls from the Victorian Fauna Field Guide App in random order to see who can match calls to the pictures best.

Make your own bingo sheet of favourite birds in your local area.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

A very simple activity sheet to involve young students in an assessing their school, waterway, home, etc for not only birds but the qualities of good bird habitat; plants and prey.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Teacher,
• All Regions,

This great resource can be used as a identification chart for students to begin their birdwatching adventures and the second page is an excellent fact sheet with tips on bringing back birdlife to our parks, homes and gardens.

• Activity Sheet, Fact sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Poster, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

Birds can be thought of as ‘nature’s flying rainbows’.  Colour these fact sheets or use them to inspire your own drawings and make a bird mobile or bird bunting to decorate your classroom, bedroom or garden:  galah, pelican, rainbow bee-eater, red-capped parrot, star finch, variegated fairy-wren.

• Activity Sheet, Fact sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

This picture story book by Narelle Oliver is perfect for understanding how animals, in this case birds, have evolved over time to possess bodies that are just right for finding and eating their favourite foods.  The birds in this watery environment all compete for the title of the ‘best beak’ but discover that they all have the best beak for their own needs.

Use this book as a springboard to studying the adaptions of animals to survive – the ‘feathery friends’ activity is a small way to start with younger students.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Story Book/Photo, Teacher, Upper Primary, Video/Audio,
• All Regions,

Use this ID sheet to enjoy the fun of birdwatching on your own, with others, anywhere, anytime.  This simple sheet can be an introduction to more birding fun using the BirdData app to complete seasonal bird surveys or by participating in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count in October each year.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

ADAPT Loddon Mallee have produced a Kids Climate Change Activity Book, including a climate change snakes and ladders game, for middle to upper primary school students filled with interactive puzzles and a story that follows Griffin the Growling Grass Frog on his mission to discover why the Loddon Mallee landscape is changing and his wetlands are drying up.

Many children are engaged with environmental issues including climate change, but often resources are nationally or globally based leaving people feeling powerless to take action. By keeping the story local and providing activities and choices the children can make at home, they may feel more positive about what they can do to make an impact.

If you are a school in the Loddon Mallee region and would like to register your school for free hard copies visit the ADAPT Loddon Mallee website.

• Activity Sheet, Game, General, Guide/Activity booklet, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• North Central CMA,

A great activity from Gippsland Water to practise spelling, undertstand the water cycle or fill time in a meaningful way during your water studies.

• Activity Sheet, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Water cycles,
• All Regions,

Join Wally the Water Scientist and Kristy from Goulburn Valley Water to learn how to view the water cycle in a zip lock bag !

A great activity to bring the water cycle to life.  Teacher notes provide the blackline masters you need.

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Video/Audio, Water cycles,
• All Regions,

As part of the River Detective Program’s participation in the statewide 2020 National Water Week Online Learning Festival we put this activity matrix together to offer engaging, multi-age, cross-curricular activities using a variety of learning styles to explore the theme; ‘Reimagining Our Water Future’.

The matrix is a compilation of challenges from a suite of activity matrices under development by the River Detectives program available for registered RD participants and located in this website under the Dive Deeper tab (login required).

Use the matrix to enjoy National Water Week or anytime !

• Activity Sheet, All, General, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary,
• All Regions,

This book is a delight for all ages from the creator of the bestselling At the Beach series.

Follow the mighty Murray River from its smallest beginnings in the mountains to where it meets the sea on an epic journey with Roland Harvey and his pelican friend, in this glorious picture book full of humorous, intricate illustrations and fascinating information.

Together they discover the story of the river: its secrets, history, ecology, people and animals. And you’re invited, too!

There are no online versions of this book but a hard copy can be ordered at your favourite book store.  Teacher’s notes are available along with a worksheet for younger readers.

• Activity Sheet, All, Catchments, Fauna (animals), Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Story Book/Photo, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Waterways,
• All Regions,

Lesson plans to help use the story, “When Water Lost Her Way” in the classroom or at home. All plans focus on relevant parts of the story for group discussion based on the Australian Curriculum and reference the Victorian curriculum where possible.

The lesson plans include targeted questions, suggested extension activities with supporting external resources based on achievement standards of the Australian curriculum. Targeted plans are developed for Foundation to Year 6.

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Water cycles,
• All Regions,

This is a powerful story by Meg Humphrys of ‘water’ questioning who she is.  She seeks all parts of her cycle for answers until an ‘old tree’ helps her to understand her place in the world and her many interconnections with all living and non-living things.

This book is a must-have in the school library, however you can enjoy the online reading or read the digital version yourself.

Indulge in water cycle meditation, discuss extension questions or explore enquiry based lesson plans based on the story.

During National Water Week 2020, Meg was interviewed and the video is a great way to further children’s engagement with this book and the water cycle (they’ll love the edible aquifer idea !)

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Story Book/Photo, Teacher, Upper Primary, Video/Audio, Water cycles,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, All, Flora (plants), Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Waterways,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, All, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, All, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Water Science,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Teacher, Urban/Storm Water,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Teacher, Waterways,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Salinity, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

This resource from NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is a colouring book and treasure hunt focused on the Southern Bell Frog (we call it the Growling Grass Frog in Victoria).  It is a beautifully detailed keepsake for students looking at the habitat, life cycle, diet, call, appearance of the Growling Grass Frog and its place in the ecosystem of wetland life.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Upper Primary, Waterways,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, Fact sheet, Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Waterways,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Urban/Storm Water,
• All Regions,

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 ?

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

A simple worksheet from Melbourne Water to review the stages of a frog’s lifecycle.  Great to use as a reading comprehension activity.

• Activity Sheet, Fauna (animals), Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary,
• All Regions,

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

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Secondary, Poster, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, All, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Poster, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

Use Melbourne Water’s beautiful colouring images of waterbugs for education / relaxation.

A mix of waterbugs             Diving Beetle                 Dragonfly Larvae

Sensitive waterbugs           Freshwater Snail

Mayfly life cycles                Wetland waterbugs

• Activity Sheet, All, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

Use Melbourne Water’s beautiful image of the platypus as a mindful colouring activity.

• Activity Sheet, All, Fauna (animals),
• All Regions,

Use these bug outlines for colouring, collage, making posters/dioramas, classifying, making a food chain, as a starting point for research, etc.

• Activity Sheet, Lower Primary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

Follow the Teachers Guide to support students to draw a birds eye view of their water testing site with captions to highlight various features.  The Riparian Zone Poster could be used as an example.

• Activity Sheet, All, Catchments, Guide/Activity booklet, Waterways,
• All Regions,

Make your own bug dial and learn more about the bugs you’ve identified.  Find out about the way they move, their sensitivity to pollutants, where they live and special features.

• Activity Sheet, All, Guide/Activity booklet, Lower Primary, Lower Secondary, Teacher, Upper Primary, Upper Secondary, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

Be inspired by activity ideas linked to the Australian curriculum in the Learning Centre, at Just For Kids with great activities for home and school and check out the 25 Junior Landcare Ideas encouraging Junior Landcarers to take action to protect the world around them.

There are also fantastic grant opportunities for schools, youth groups, early learning centres and landcare groups.

• Activity Sheet, All, General, Guide/Activity booklet, Website,
• All Regions,

Use these cards to;

• print and assemble cards with picture and information back to back (laminated will increase their longevity) and use with the In Stream Habitat Poster to place bugs in their preferred habitat zone
• print the pictures and information separately and match to each other.  Up the stakes and do this in a game of Concentration.
• play celebrity head to ‘guess the bug’
• sort the bugs into groups; herbivores/carnivores, legs/no legs, habitat zones, sensitive/tolerant.  How else could you classify them ?
• print two sets (pictures only) and use for games of concentration, snap or fish to practise identification skills

• Activity Sheet, All, Fact sheet, Game, Water bugs,
• All Regions,

Alternatively you could use Melbourne Water’s Growling Grass Frog activity sheet where the colouring is set amid some facts about the specie.

• Activity Sheet, All, Fauna (animals),
• All Regions,

• Activity Sheet, All, Fauna (animals),
• All Regions,

• Activity Sheet, All, Fauna (animals),
• All Regions,

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.

• Activity Sheet, Guide/Activity booklet, Teacher, Urban/Storm Water,
• All Regions,