The Tikkun Project
Lesson
7
The Great School Water Audit (adapted from the Toronto Zoo Blue Schools Framework)
Concept
Before we can protect the global well, we must become environmental detectives, using scientific tools to track, measure, and calculate exactly where our school uses and wastes water.
Focus Question
Where are the hidden leaks and high-water habits on our school campus, and what does the hard data tell us?
Knowledge & Understanding Goals
Science & Technology, Air and Water / Systems in Action: Plan and conduct an empirical investigation into a local facility's water consumption.
Mathematics, Measurement & Data Management: Collect baseline data and calculate rates of flow and volume.
Thinking & Learning Skills
Research Skills (Measurement): Using stopwatches and graduated containers to gather precise data.
Thinking Skills (Rate Calculation): Applying a simple formula to convert timing data into a rate.
Context
This lesson turns the unit's accumulated reasoning into hard local evidence, generating the exact data students need to target their action plan. [Filled in this pass the source left this field as an unfilled placeholder.]
Lesson Outline
BRAINSTORMING WHERE WATER IS USED
Brainstorm every school location where water is used (washrooms, kitchen, fountains, garden, floor maintenance). Remind students to get permission before entering washrooms/offices.
LEARNING THE AUDIT TOOLS
Show the stopwatch and graduated cup/bucket. Demonstrate a flow-rate test: Flow Rate = Volume ÷ Time (e.g., 500 mL in 5 seconds = 100 mL/second).
CONDUCTING THE AUDIT
Teams of 2-4 investigate: the Toilet & Urinal Team (flush volume, via label or timed trials); the Faucet & Fountain Team (flow-rate tests); the Refill Station Team (bottles-saved counts over multiple days).
DEBRIEFING THE FINDINGS
Teams share data and discuss the most surprising findings and any leaks or high-volume habits identified.
Notes for Teaching and Evaluation
A live demonstration at a familiar sink before sending teams to unfamiliar locations means students practice the calculation once under supervision first.
Assigning different teams to structurally different fixtures ensures the whole-class debrief surfaces a genuinely varied data picture.