As part of a recent maths unit grade 7 students have been studying how to use percentages effectively within the context of Globalization and Sustainability. 

During the unit students developed an awareness of domestic water consumption and explored how many of the products that we use have an “invisible” virtual water content that can have a global impact on water usage.  While learning about percentage change students used a water footprint calculator to investigate the impact of lifestyle changes on their overall water usage. Science Daily predicts a worldwide water shortage by the year 2040. This is well within these students’ lifetimes. 

To encourage their peers to make a difference by making wise choices about water, students gave a presentation in assembly showing the impact of things like showers, shopping or meat eating on a person’s water footprint.  They concluded by encouraging their friends to think about the issues of water by explaining that, even though the individual impact is small, if we all do our part we can make a remarkable difference.

By Julie Constance & James Spencer