Water in the world: Fieldwork

Fieldwork is an integral part of learning to think geographically about space, place, interconnections, the environment and geographical changes. Fieldwork uses a range of geographical tools such as maps, GIS, data, photographing, diagrams and spatial/scientific measurements.

This teaching resource includes;

• Excursion Plan
• Inquiry Task
• Student Review

Focus

This resource develops students’ geographical thinking about the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and how flooding occurs. It considers the tributaries that create the bathtub effect in the valley and provides students with opportunities to gather geographical data about the floodplain, potential and historic flood levels and apply geographical concepts about interconnection and environmental change.

It is an inquiry based and immersive activity. The learning intention of the tasks is to ensure students have understood the geographical characteristics of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and made connections about flood mitigation strategies. There is a strong literacy and numeracy focus for these tasks.

Inquiry questions

• How do natural and human processes influence the distribution and availability of water as a resource in the catchment of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley?
• What are the causes and impacts of, and responses to, a flood event (a hydrological hazard) in the catchment of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley?