Challenge Outline
To celebrate the 2024 Water New Zealand Conference being held in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton in September, students from primary and secondary schools across the Waikato are encouraged to participate in our writing competition.
The best submissions in each category will win a copy of “Ultrawild” by Steve Mushin, an Inspiring the Future event at their school and will be eligible to win the overall competition prize - an allday Design Jam for 30 students with the amazing Steve Mushin, futurist, industrial designer and visionary.
Age Categories:
• 5 years – 8 years old
• 9 years -12 years old
• 13 years – 18 years old
Prize – All day Design Jam
Water New Zealand is thrilled to collaborate with Steve Mushin to inspire our young talent to envision the future of water and our world. During the design jam, Steve will guide students on an extraordinary journey of exploration, creativity, and forward-thinking. He will cover important topics such as:
• Climate Change
• Design
• Engineering
• Environmental Stewardship
To enter:
Students, or teachers on their behalf, must submit a piece of writing around the theme of wastewater in a future world. There is no maximum or minimum word count. All entries must include the students names, age, school and the reading that was completed in support of the entry. Email entries to: mitch.marks@waternz.org.nz
Did you know?
Steve’s book, “Ultrawild,” won the 2024 Australian Book Design Awards for Best Designed Children’s Non-Fiction Book and is nominated for the 2024 Storylines New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. As an engaging and motivating presenter, Steve unlocks every student’s creativity and optimism for the future.
Inspiring the future
Inspiring the Future is a free programme for students aged 7 to 13 across Aotearoa New Zealand, created to broaden their horizons. It aims to challenge stereotypes and address unconscious biases that can limit young people’s potential. It does this by connecting schools with role models – people who are keen to share their career stories. Find out more on this website
Curriculum Links:
• English (Reading and Writing)
• Science (Understanding about Science, Nature of Science)
• Social Sciences (Social Inquiry)
• Technology (Technological Knowledge, Technological Practice)
Suggested Activities
Introduction (10 minutes):
Watch the short introductory video available on the Water New Zealand website. Steve Mushin talks about his book “Ultrawild” and introduces the competition.
Discussion and Brainstorming (20 minutes):
Reading Activity (20 minutes):
“On the backs of giants”
Start the creative flow by reading others’ ideas about nature, future worlds or innovation/invention. Some suggestions are included in the background information below or use resources you are already familiar with.
Discussion and Brainstorming (20 minutes):
“Imagine tomorrow”
The task is to come up with a future vision for wastewater. A new way of using it to fuel a vision of the future world we want. But first we need to think about our future world.
Discuss the reading material in small groups.
Brainstorm futuristic ideas about what you want our world to look like 50 or 100 years in the future.
Think OUTSIDE the box, see if you can push your ideas beyond the immediately obvious.
Steve’s creativity challenge:
1. Start with a blank page and a pencil.
2. Spend 1 minute reflecting on the material you have read and come up with one idea or vision that you found interesting.
3. Set a timer for five minutes.
4. Write, draw or scribble anything about the one idea that captured your attention.
5. Stop when the timer goes.
6. Spend two minutes discussing your drawing with your neighbour or in a small group.
7. Set a timer for five minutes.
8. Go back to your own drawing or notes and change it. Make them different. Try a new direction, add something completely different, make it bigger or bolder.
9. Stop when the timer goes.
10. Have one final look at your paper, what did you come up with?
11. Share in a group if you are comfortable with doing so.
“No longer “waste” (sewage) water: turning the unusable into the useful”
Now that you have an idea about what your future world might look like, we are going to narrow the focus to thinking about wastewater. What role could wastewater play in making your world come true?
Could it help grow plants, drive machines, provide drinking water, be a new tourism attraction, be repurposed in some way? Go on, go wild. There are no rules!
- Discuss the learning material about wastewater in small groups.
- Brainstorm futuristic ideas about what you could use wastewater for in a future world?
- Think OUTSIDE the box, see if you can push your ideas beyond the immediately obvious.
Writing Activity (50 minutes):
“Writing the world of tomorrow”
- Primary Students:
Write a creative piece in any form (e.g., story, poem, diary entry) set in the future, imagining how wastewater is transformed into a valuable resource.
- Secondary Students:
Write an essay, speculative report, news article, script, or other written form exploring how wastewater is transformed into a valuable resource in an imagined future world.
Refine and edit (20 minutes):
“Polishing to perfection”
- In a future session spend 20 minutes refining and editing your piece of work before submission.
General Guidelines
• Write a creative piece in any form (story, poem, diary entry, etc.)
• Write a piece in any form (story, poem, diary entry, essay, report, news article, script, etc.).
• Use imaginative language and futuristic concepts.
• Incorporate speculative ideas and innovative solutions.
• Ensure the piece is structured and well-organised.
1. Participation:
Students must be studying or attending school in the Waikato area to be eligible.
Students can work individually or in pairs.
Teachers are encouraged to build this competition into their existing teaching activities and may submit students work on their behalf.
2. Reading and Research Material:
Teachers working on this competition in class should use resources they are already familiar with or work with their librarian etc to source and provide age-appropriate, imaginative reading material focused on nature, the future or innovation/invention.
The texts you use are up to you, but some suggestions are:
• Ultrawild by Steve Mushin (ISBN 9781760292812) Ages 9-18
• Tree by Claire Saxby (ISBN 9781761069505) Ages 5-12
• Footprint by Phil Cummings (ISBN 9781761180323) Ages 5-10
• Hine and the Tohunga Portal by Ataria Sharman (ISBN 9781775506348) Ages 10-16
• The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown (ISBN 9781800784567) Ages 7-11
• The Apprentice Witnesser by Bren MacDibble (ISBN 9781761180781) Ages 9-13
• Kowhai and the Giants by Kate Parker (ISBN 9780473528904) Ages 4-10
• Henri and the Machine by Isabelle Marinov (ISBN 9781800786462) Ages 5-7
• Wild by Ele Fountain (ISBN 9781782693840) Ages 9-11
• The Edge of Light: New Dawning by A. M. Dixon (ISBN 9781990035197) Ages 12+
• Alex Through my Eyes by Roseanne Hawke (ISBN 9781760877002) Ages 11-14
• Orongohau | Best New Zealand Poems 2023
• Climate Change (Inside Bubble Earth) by Des Hunt (published 2021, ISBN 9780995117686)
Use other resources as needed to explore and understand wastewater:
• https://www.smartwater.org.nz/
• https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/ (search wastewater)
• https://www.watercare.co.nz/residents/learn/storybooks-for-kids
3. Writing Guidelines:
Students, or teachers on their behalf, must submit a piece of writing around the theme of wastewater in a future world.
There is no maximum or minimum word lengthslengths, but judging will be based on quality rather than quantity.
All entries must include the students names, age, school and the reading that was completed in support of the entry. No judgement will be made on what was read or how it may have been used but is merely to provide evidence of some background research.
4. Presentation
Students can use drawings, diagrams, or digital media to enhance their written pieces.
5. Assessment Criteria:
• Creativity and originality of the piece.
• Engagement with futuristic concepts.
• Degree of innovative thinking.
• Quality of writing (grammar, structure, and coherence).
6. Competition Rules:
Students or teachers can submit entries by emailing mitch.marks@waternz.org.nz before the deadline of 5pm Wednesday 4th September 2024.
Age category prizes consist of three copies of the book “Ultrawild” by Steve Mushin, one per age category (5 - 8, 9 - 12 and 13 - 18).
Winners will be announced on the 11th of September 2024.
Final winners will be chosen by representatives chosen by Water New Zealand.
There is no maximum or minimum word lengths, but judging will be based on quality rather than quantity.
All entries must include the students names, age, school and the reading that was completed in support of the entry. No judgement will be made on what was read or how it may have been used but is merely to provide evidence of some background research.
Water New Zealand reserves the right to refrain from selecting a winner or winners for any reason, including but not limited to the insufficient quality of entries or low participation across the region.
Winners will be chosen based on creativity, originality, and future-focused thinking using the criteria outlined in section 5.
Schools of each of the category winners who do not win the design jam with Steve Mushin will be invited to participate in an “Inspiring the Future” careers event at their school. The organisation of this event will be facilitated by Water New Zealand and the Inspiring the Future team allowing students to meet workers in the water industry and understand more about what they do. This session will be held onsite at the age category winners’ school in the final week of term 3 (23-27 September 2024). Full details will be finalised with the winning school once the winner has been announced.
The final prize is a one-day session with Steve Mushin for 30 students to be held on the 23rd of September at the winners school. Students attending the workshop will be selected at the discretion of the school. Full details will be finalised with the winning school once the winner has been announced. Water New Zealand will cover the cost of Steve’s time, consumables and travel. All other expenses will be met by the school or Steve as agreed during the final confirmation process.
Water New Zealand reserves the right to use images of the winning school and pupils for promotional purposes. All relevant school policies will be followed. It is the responsibility of the school to ensure that Water New Zealand is aware of the relevant policies and procedures for the use of images.