Water quality

A series of resources that include a set of posters and an activity book that link to inshore biodiversity on the Great Barrier Reef.

Eight unique STEAM activities for upper primary and high school students.

The importance of catchments in the Cairns region are explained in this power point. It can be adapted to be used in other catchment areas along the GBR coast.

Poor water quality from land-based run-off is one of the biggest threats to the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef. All actions — big or small — are vital for the Reef’s future. Students can help the Reef recover from the legacy of past actions and be better able to withstand those predicted to threaten its future. This series aims to encourage students to learn about and care for their local environment, in turn contributing to the health of the Great Barrier Reef.

During this unit, students will cover: The water cycle of coastal aquatic environments, A/biotic data collection comparing three aquatic environments, discussion of how water quality is influenced by various biotic and abiotic factors, identification of a/biotic influences on environmental conditions and impacts to the three environments.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Program surveys and reports on the health of inshore coral, seagrass and water quality every year, and has done so for over 15 years. Information and results can be found in this document.
Monitoring water quality and the health of inshore coral reef and seagrass habitats is essential to understanding the resilience of the entire Great Barrier Reef.

A series of resources such as extended investigations, links and GBRMPA links to Marine Science and Aquatics syllabus.

In this unit, students will investigate different wetland types. They will describe how wetlands are part of the water cycle. Students will identify different animals that live in wetlands and group and classify them. Students will recognise and understand the interactions between living things in food chains and food webs in a wetland, and how human activity can affect these interactions. Students will understand and investigate water health of a wetland and consider threats to wetland health and how to manage it.

In this unit, students will investigate fish species and their survival needs. They will explore the habitats in which they live and identify how changes to the physical conditions of the habitat e.g. by pollution, can affect the growth and survival of fish. Students will identify fishing rules and investigate sustainable fishing practices. Students will use their knowledge about fish growth and survival to inform decisions about fishing and sustainable fishing practices.