Pedagogical hints
Water quality is a complex issue. We all use water and goods grown or manufactured with water, so water quality is a responsibility that we all share.
At times, there can be an urban-rural split when it comes to water quality issues. Diffuse pollution is a major cause of water pollution. It can come from land use and underperforming wastewater and stormwater systems in urban areas and from intensified farming/horticulture in rural areas.
The following resources may be useful when managing discussions about water quality.
The article Teaching ethics collates Hub resources that can be helpful when dealing with difficult issues. It includes the Ethics thinking toolkit and the Ethics in science planner.
Concept cartoons can be used to show a range of viewpoints to engage students and stimulate discussions.
These Rivers and Us resources are in a downloadable PDF format.
Acknowledgement: Polluted water illustration by Gabriel Jose, 123RF Ltd. Copyright The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
