Case Studies
 Loveday Primary
School
Monitoring Site
Loveday Causeway, Loveday (Riverland
catchment).
Information about the group
The Upper Primary class has been
monitoring Loveday Causeway since 1999. The students are to be admired
for their enthusiasm for monitoring their site and the zeal with
which they look after it. Despite all of the trees at their site
dying as a result of salinity, the students are always keen to do
their 'snapshot' monitoring. They also visit their site out of school
hours to see what they can catch.
In 2003, Loveday Causeway has been
completely dry due to the drought in the Riverland catchment - but
rather than stop monitoring, the school have simply adopted an extra
monitoring site on the River adjacent to the Causeway.
 Why they got involved
in Waterwatch
The school became involved with
Waterwatch because of a general interest in the environment and
need to educate students about water quality issues relating to
the River Murray catchment. Loveday Causeway is also a significant
place in the lives of the Loveday community as it is a popular recreation
spot for students and their families.
Achievements or activities
Achievements
- In 2001, several of the students
attended a meeting of the River Murray Catchment Water Management
Board and demonstrated their Waterwatch activities to Board members
and the Member for Chaffey, Karlene Maywald.
- The class has made a fantastic
video showcasing their monitoring site.
- In early 2003, residents of the
area who were concerned at the lack of water in the Loveday Causeway
lagoon contacted the school to request their monitoring data.
The residents presented this data to other people in the region
to highlight the fact that the lagoon is normally home to several
different species of macroinvertebrates and frogs and should be
managed appropriately.
 Activities
- The school monitors water quality
and macroinvertebrates at the Causeway and the River upstream
of the Pumping Station during the six Murray Snapshots.
- The class has participated in
Saltwatch, Aquatic Snapshot and the EPA Frog Census on a number
of occasions.
|
