Narre Warren North Primary School (NWNPS) recently signed up to the Schools Water Efficiency Program (SWEP), thanks to South East Water sponsoring their program registration.
SWEP provides data loggers to Victorian schools to track their water usage which means they can detect leaks, save water and teach students about the importance of water efficiency.
Participating schools also receive access to a tailored curriculum program, which incorporates the school’s water data in mathematics and sciences.
NWNPS’s environment club were enthusiastic about saving water at their school. Environmental leaders Hayden, Luke, Oliver and Lyla recently spoke at their school assembly to encourage their peers to use water responsibly.
“We need to turn off the taps when we are not using them. Even if you see only a little bit of water dripping, please turn it off,” said Grade 3 student Hayden said.
“Also, we could collect excess water and use it wisely – the environmental club will be looking into ways to reuse excess water, such as the water used from cleaning our compost tubs to feed the garden,” added Grade 3 student Luke.
With the help of their teachers, the environmental club have been proactive at checking their water usage on the SWEP portal daily and are hoping to see the school’s usage decrease as they raise awareness about using water wisely.
South East Water currently has 298 schools in its service region signed up to the SWEP program – almost half the schools in Melbourne’s south-east.
In 2017–18, South East Water sponsored 40 SWEP school memberships and another seven schools over the last month.
Since the start of SWEP, South East Water’s schools have saved more than 913 megalitres of water, worth an estimated $3.7 million.
Schools interested in joining the SWEP program can visit https://www.myswep.com.au/ or contact South East Water’s Education Team on 9552 3231.
