1 Our Land, Our Water, Our life Apmere anwerne kenhe, kwatkye anwerne kenhe, utnenge anwerne kenhe Facilitating an understanding of community water supplies in a remote Central Australian Aboriginal Community Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts Department of Employment Education and Training

2 Being ‘Waterwise’ in Central Australia

3 Water on remote communities Essential for a healthy life Complex to manage Range of service providers Younger generations may lack ‘waterwise’ knowledge

4 Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa)

5 Water in Santa Teresa Swimming pool Irrigated oval Gardens Water shortages

6 Working with water WeekYear 3/4 Ltyentye Apurte Example Unit of Work Why water is important to me? E.g. health, drinking, washing, fun, swimming, gardening, pets, keeping cool (air- conditioning). Students begin to value water. Poster competition “Why water is important to me” Where does water come from and where does it go? E.g. water cycle, groundwater, evaporation. Where does rainwater go when it rains? How does it get to our house? Link to community swimming pool and school grounds. Visit to borefield, storage tanks, effluent ponds Investigating water – science experiments (optional) E.g. experiments with floating, sinking and displacement; measuring leaks around the School How do we use water? Start to investigate and measure how much water we use How can we save water? Investigate ways that water is wasted and how it can be used more wisely.

7 Activity Day 1 Field trip Activities Presentation

8 Activity Day 2 Water walk Science Fun

9 Work results Frequency of important water uses in posters (n=17) Swimming Pool (16) Water tank sometimes used for swimming (13) Garden (10) Shower (9) Drinking (9) Tap/Sink (8) Water hole (4) Hose (3) Sprinklers (3) Cooking (1) Car (1) Fire truck (1)

10 Student interviews

11 Reflections Language was a barrier Arrernte speaking staff could be more involved Students did not appear to connect ‘western’ water supply with cultural knowledge of waterholes Need for a culturally connective bilingual water education resource

12 Remote school survey QuestionResponse Do your students need to know more about water? Yes (2) Most definitely! Yes they certainly do What sort of things do they need to know about? “Health, saving water (a big problem), where it comes from” “Health, use of water in sustainable ways, cultural knowledge” “Saving water and health” “Saving water, turning off taps when finished…” What do you think are the main issues with water in your community? Water wastage (3) Health/water quality (2) What needs to happen to make water education work with your students? Culturally appropriate resources (3) Whole school approach (2) Resources for English as a Second Language (ESL) students (2) Work with community (1) Continuing support (1)

13 Consulting with Senior Arrernte Women Margaret Kemarre (MK) Turner OAM Arrernte teacher Artist Author: Bush Foods, Everything comes from the land Veronica Perrule Dobson Arrernte teacher Translator Author: Arrernte Traditional Healing Marie Elena Ellis Arrernte / Warlpiri Speaker Desert Guide Artist Early childhood educator Consultant Roseanne Ellis Arrernte speaker Health worker Artist Arts assistant

14 Recommendations Program is transferable Translation/bilingual teaching Stories from the older generation Water story resource Crucial involvement of Indigenous teachers and assistants

15 Stories from the women

16 Connecting Learning

17 Everything comes from the Land

18 Learning outcomes WATER RESOURCE Water hole Drinking Garden Swimming pool Water needs to be managed Bore/ pipe/tank Effluent ponds Rain/ groundwater Community needs I can be ‘waterwise’ The water resource is important to me There is a ‘Water Management Cycle” I can help manage water so that there is always enough for the things I need Saving water is part of water management Water is important to me Water needs to be conserved Established link Missing link

19 Connecting knowledge in Santa Teresa Water management Animals and plants Language Water (Kwatye) Ceremony Land People

20 The next steps Work with Arrernte language group Use Arrernte Learning Sequence: –Sing an Arrernte Song –Stimulus e.g. poster or story –Word bank/flash cards based on stimulus –Writing activity –Games –Singing Record Song about water written by local community member Provide activity ideas for teachers Work with Arrernte teacher assistants at Term 4 planning workshop Review after Term 4

Planning framework Create a learning framework which can be locally contextualised, and supports development of good pedagogical practices among classroom teachers 21