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Sipping on science Field trip teaches Lusel K'e students
about drinking water
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 8, 2013
LUTSEL K'E/SNOWDRIFT
Lutsel K'e Dene School students now know all about water's journey from Great Slave Lake to their taps after a class trip to the community's new water treatment plant earlier this month.
Students in grades 8, 9 and 10 visited the plant, which was built last year, said teacher Sumangala Desaigoudar.
"They have built a new water treatment centre, so we were just aware of that, but we never went inside to see how it works," she said.
The field trip, which took place on June 7, coincided with the school's environmental science curriculum, Desaigoudar said.
"Students could see exactly how the water was treated and how it is pumped in from the lake," she said. "The whole plant was completely computerized, they could see the engineering behind it and how it was treated."
Grade 8 student Zachary Sangris said he enjoyed the tour. He said he learned about how water is processed before being stored in the plant's water tank.
"It was pretty cool," he said.
The idea to teach students about water treatment came after a visit from Sudhir Jha, manager of community infrastructure planning with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA).
The department has been working with communities in the past to get their plants up to Canadian drinking water guideline standards. Most recently, MACA contracted the installation of new treatment plants in five communities, including Jean Marie River, Trout Lake, Wrigley, Fort Good Hope and Lutsel K'e through the use of $8 million from the federal government's Building Canada Plan.
Jha did a presentation at Lutsel K'e Dene School about the benefits of post-secondary education in science, technology and trades. He also talked about opportunities such as skills club programs and annual competitions through Skills Canada NWT, as well as scholarships available from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (NAPEG).
Jha said students seemed especially interest in environmental sciences during his presentation, sparking the idea to take them on the field trip.
"I thought it was a good opportunity to take them to the water treatment plant so they can see how they were getting their water treated in Lutsel K'e," he said.
Students learned how to test water to make sure it is safe to drink and how water is transported from Christie Bay, on the eastern arm of Great Slave Lake. Water is pumped in from the lake before being purified in the plant and held in storage tanks. A water truck then delivers it to residents.
Jha said learning about where their water comes from helped provide a context for the lessons students are taught in science class.
"They got the opportunity to see the real-life application. Field trips are very important for students," he said. "It helps students to get hands-on learning rather than just studying books and the Internet about water treatment."
Jha said he believes learning about the treatment process will not just demonstrate possible career paths to students, it will also encourage them to think about their drinking water.
"I hope it helped students to draw conclusions, make predictions and practise making environmentally-responsible decisions," he said.
Jha said he hopes field trips will increase to include other environmental science- or engineering-themed projects during the next school year.
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