Water education in Australian schools : a case study in New South Wales

![CDATA[Water is a vital source of life. In developed countries, we are extremely fortunate to be able to access water at our fingertips, with little cost. Consequently, our water use is so much, that per capita, per day water demand in Sydney is about 303 litres. In contrast, about 1 billion of the world’s population does not have access to as little as 5 litres of safe drinking water per day. Access to safe drinking water is regarded as a basic human right, but to our surprise, about one-fifth of the world population does not have access to safe drinking water. Water is also an integral part of the ecosystem. Educating our school students about water is important so that this precious resource is preserved and enhanced for all the human beings. This paper presents an overview of water education in New South Wales. It has been found that New South Wales school children receive basic education on water such as learning about the hydrologic cycle and water recycling, but limited mathematical aspects of water management are covered. Due to climate change, increasing water demand and increasing pollution, water accessibility will be a challenging issue in the near future. Water education will assist to achieve sustainable water development in Australia.]]