Canterbury is fortunate to have excellent water resources which stem from mountain rivers and lakes. We need to protect these resources from the impacts of farming, urban development and industry by sustainable management of our waterways.

The International Centre for Nature Conservation at Lincoln University, has developed a new initiative to assess our water resources and promote environmental awareness. Scientists from the Environmental Management and Design Division at Lincoln University have used their expertise to develop a simple and interactive method for teaching the techniques needed to monitor water.

Waterwatch is an interactive programme designed to involve school students and community groups in monitoring their local waterways. The programme uses a water monitoring kit especially designed to make water monitoring safe, fun and accessible to all age groups. The Waterwatch programme has been tailored to fit with school curricula and comes with trained coordinators. Most importantly it is offered FREE to schools.

The Waterwatch programme has been assisted by a grant from The Brian Mason Scientific & Technical Trust.

Waterwatch provides the expertise and equipment to enable students to accurately measure physical, chemical and biological indicators of water quality.

Waterwatch is adaptable for students from years 6 to 13 and is recommended for all science subjects but is especially relevant to environmental science modules. The data collected is used to build up a database of local water conditions and has been used successfully for science projects and exhibitions. The data can also be used to demonstrate basic statistical techniques such as confidence intervals and error terms.

Photos on this page are courtesy of the Waterwatch Programme

- Photos may be viewed full-size by clicking on thumbnail graphics -

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