Waterwatch Australia

Waterwatch Australia is a national volunteer water quality monitoring and education program. Landcare groups, schools, other community groups and individuals throughout Australia are involved in Waterwatch.

Waterwatch helps people to get together with their local councils, water authorities, industry, catchment managers, and other organisations to discuss the water quality issues in their catchments and to develop strategies to deal with these issues.

Through the Commonwealth Government's Natural Heritage Trust, Waterwatch provides funding to the community for Waterwatch coordinators and education projects.

Waterwatch Australia is an umbrella program overarching the State programs

which include

• Waterwatch Victoria
• Waterwatch South Australia
• Ribbons of Blue in Western Australia
• Waterwatch Northern Territory
• Waterwatch Queensland
• Waterwatch New South Wales
• Waterwatch Australian Capital Territory and
• Waterwatch Tasmania.

NSW Waterwatch

NSW Waterwatch is an exciting and highly successful environmental education and action program involving hundreds of schools and community groups in NSW. The program uses water quality monitoring to promote interest and understanding of local water quality and catchment management issues.

Waterwatch helps each group look after their waterways by providing them with the relevant information and training in water quality monitoring, habitat assessment, algal testing, macroinvertebrate sampling, catchment management, action planning and much more.

Waterwatch NSW is a dynamic environmental action network, educating and empowering communities to work together for healthy catchments.

Waterwatch is probably the world's most remarkable school and community water quality monitoring and action program.

Waterwatch NSW encompasses the Streamwatch program and is supported by DIPNR, the Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust, Sydney Water and Waterwatch Australia. NSW Waterwatch operates under the umbrella of Waterwatch Australia.

Each year more than 30,000 people in NSW participate in Waterwatch and Streamwatch - the exciting and highly successful environmental education and action program in New South Wales, Australia.

NSW Waterwatcher programs

In addition to our water quality testing program, Waterwatch has some other exciting ways to act for the environment and have fun at the same time -

The Water Bug Survey

Every Autumn and Spring, hundreds of schools, community groups and individuals take to the local waterways to sample the range of macroinvertebrates (water bugs) present. In 1997 over 20,000 people searched high and low for insects, crustaceans, molluscs, and worms.

The survey is fun. The information collected during the NSW Water Bug Survey is collated and provides a snapshot of the health of waterways in NSW.

Murder Under the Microscope

Murder Under the Microscope is a leading-edge technological eco-game played annually by hundreds of schools across Australia and even overseas. It's go, go, go and school against school as teams of eco-detectives uncover the evidence and probe the minds of a panel of environmental experts at 'Catchment Headquarters' to be the first to crack the environmental mystery.

This interactive eco-competition for students in years 2to 8 is run every year via the internet and satellite. School classes learn about the environment in a fun, hands-on way while competing to solve a catchment mystery.

The students must identify the victim, villain and crime site using clues beamed directly to the classroom via the internet and satellite. By working in teams, researching the evidence and probing the minds of environmental experts, young eco-detectives race against the clock to crack the murder mystery.

Junior Waterwatch program

Designed for students in years 5 to 8, this program provides students with a practical understanding of catchments and aquatic ecosystems in preparation for their involvement in the more senior program.