New teaching resource educates students on London’s water supply

With funding from RBC Tech for Nature, river charity Thames21 has worked with community water management programme CAMELLIA to develop a new teaching resource that explores London’s water resource management.

The Water Futures learning tool aims to help students answer questions such as “How does water move from the natural environment into the urban water cycle?” and “How can we ensure that we don’t run out of water?”

The tool, available via the Water Futures website, also explores the ways in which scientists, engineers and management authorities make decisions about water resources, and visualises changes in London’s water supply due to climate change and population growth.

“The Water Futures project creates a vital learning resource for students, helping them understand the complex environmental issues around managing water and the impacts that climate change and a growing population will have in the future,” says Chris Coode, deputy chief executive at Thames21. “We’re immensely grateful to Royal Bank of Canada’s Tech for Nature donation and the supporting schools for working with us to inform and empower young people and create a more sustainable water future.”

Currently, secondary school children are taught aspects of water resource knowledge in relation to climate change. However, this tool will enable secondary schools to cover the topic comprehensively in the school curriculum. A range of resources are provided to help teachers implement the case study in the classroom, including a role-playing game in which students act as water resources engineers tasked with ensuring the health of London’s water future.

The progamme was developed in collaboration with Helen Cox, humanities lead at Croxley Danes School in Hertfordshire. According to Cox, “It’s a massive part of what we’re learning about in geography; it comes into so many different areas. And to understand the connection of climate change to water availability, I think, is really important.”

Desiree Clarke-Noble, managing director, brand and marketing, Europe and APAC, RBC Capital Markets, adds “We’re delighted to have helped fund the development of the new Water Futures teaching resource through RBC Tech for Nature, our multi-year commitment to preserving our natural ecosystem. With the effects of climate change impacting us all, it’s important that we educate young people with knowledge around key environmental issues, including water resource management.”

Learn more about Water Futures here.