Water is essential for life, and the abundance or scarcity of water is a major influence on which life forms can exist in a place.
Raindrops falling from the sky are the tears shed by Ranginui in his longing for Papatūānuku, while the rising mist shows her enduring love directed up towards him in return. The Water of Life – Wai Ora – carries this mauri of aroha as it cycles endlessly through our atmosphere, land and waterways. Water is also a good environmental indicator, and the state of our waterways tells us a lot about our relationship with nature and the health of our community.
Through the Water of Life theme, we can delve into all of these aspects of this vital element – wai – in our environment.
There are five Key Concepts in Water of Life to explore:
a) Water is essential for life
b) Fresh, clean water is a relatively scarce resource
c) The importance of water is reflected in culture and society
d) Natural processes replenish and cleanse water
e) People can work with nature to create healthy water
The Theme Area resource includes the booklet and case studies.
A hard copy of Water of Life Theme Area resource is available from your Enviroschools facilitator. A low resolution version can be downloaded below.
To help planning for learning and action you can access an overview with activities here. Water of Life Theme Area Overview
You can access pdfs to download of individual Enviroschools Water of Life activities here.
