Resources
Activity cards about issues
In the lead-up and during the first two weeks of the game, use the classroom activity cards. These may be viewed, printed or downloaded from here.
The activity cards cover topics related to water and the environment.
Through their investigations students should come to the following basic understandings.
Accidents
- Spills of many kinds can be villains.
- A spill can occur a long distance from the site it affects. Pollutants are carried in the water and may reach the groundwater.
- Some spills can be difficult or impossible to clean up.
Accidents activity card (.pdf 306 kB)
Flow, silt and sediment
- Dams and other artificial changes (irrigation) to the river change the flow.
- The flow affects the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
- Flooding can be beneficial to a river system.
- Soils and silts cause changes to the depth and flow of the water, which in turn affects the temperature and the fishes’ ability to breathe.
Flow, silt and sediment activity card (.pdf 280 kB)
Land use
- Human activity affects water quality.
- Pollutants directly emptied into the water system can be generated by factories, sewage, abattoirs and so on.
- Cleared land and overgrazed land will allow sediment to wash into waterways.
- Recreation, dams and transport affect water quality.
Land use activity card (.pdf 271 kB)
Nutrients
- Nutrients from run-off, chemical fertilisers and sewage cause an increase in plant and algae growth in rivers.
- Water temperature is raised, flow is lowered, oxygen is lowered.
Nutrients activity card (.pdf 272 kB)
Run-off
- Run-off is the rain that is neither absorbed by the ground nor evaporated.
- Run-off can carry with it all the loose materials in the catchment, washing soil, fertilisers and pesticides into the waterways.
Run-off activity card (.pdf 238 kB)
Salinity
- The level of salts and minerals in the water is affected by the rising water table.
- Land clearing and irrigation (including domestic lawn watering) create high water tables and high salinity.
- Salinity affects agriculture.
Salinity activity card (.pdf 232 kB)
Climate change
- Climate change can affect vegetation and habitats.
- Climate change can change the flora and fauna
- Human activity can contribute to climate change
Climate change activity card (.pdf 312 kB)
Stormwater
- Stormwater systems carry litter and other residential rubbish, which can wash down gutters and drains.
- Sewerage systems can overload into the stormwater system.
Stormwater activity card (.pdf 272 kB)
Vegetation
- Trees and plants play a vital role in the health of our waterways.
- Removing trees allows more water to reach the groundwater system.
- Vegetation protects the fragile river banks from collapsing and forms a buffer between land and the waterway.
- Plants in and around the water provide habitats for animals, as well as shading the river and slowing the flow.
Vegetation activity card (.pdf 289 kB)
Water temperature
- Cold water holds more oxygen.
- Warm water results in the growth of plants and algae.
- Turbid (muddy) water heats up more quickly than clear water.
- Cutting trees along river banks raises water temperature.
Water temperature activity card (.pdf 216 kB)
Workcards on ecosystems
Some teachers have found these documents useful:
Water cycle activities
Understanding the water cycle is an integral part of exploring environmental issues.
There are a number of animated diagrams and activities which are available on the web.
Here are four:
Here is a simple classroom activity to explore the water cycle (.pdf 48 kB).
Web links
Listed below are a number of online resources which may assist detectives in their understanding of the issues. If detectives wish to share the URLs of other useful sites they discover during their research, please email Catchment HQ with the URL and it will be posted on this page, or leave a message on the MuM teachers’ wiki.
NSW government
www.dwe.nsw.gov.au
www.environment.nsw.gov.au
Australian National Botanic Gardens
www.anbg.gov.au/anbg
Catchments and groundwater
www.precisioninfo.com/rivers_org/au/
www.mdbc.gov.au/education/education.htm (Murray-Darling)
Carbon Cycle links
www.cmar.csiro.au/e-print/open/image/carbon_cycle.gif
www.epa.vic.gov.au/GreenhouseCalculator/calculator/reference/multiintro.htm
Climate change
www.epa.vic.gov.au/climate-change/default.asp
www.teachingclimatechange.com.au/
Conservation
www.nccnsw.org.au
http://users.mcmedia.com.au/~stocky/conservation_links.html
Coasts and sea
www.ea.gov.au/coasts/atlas
Environmental issues
www.environment.gov.au/education/
www.bom.gov.au/climate/change
Fish
www.nativefish.asn.au
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries
Land and water
www.environment.gov.au/land/
www.environment.gov.au/water/
www.waterwatch.nsw.gov.au
www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au
Landcare
www.landcareonline.com
Salinity
www.ndsp.gov.au
Soil degradation
www.anra.gov.au/topics/soils/
Stormwater
www.environment.nsw.gov.au/stormwater/
Water supply
www.citywestwater.com.au
www.watercorporation.com.au
www.savewater.com.au
Certificate of Merit
You may wish to reward your students with a certificate for Murder under the Microscope.
Certificate of Merit (.doc 259 kB)