Dive into The Well for free teacher resources after record year

A record number of South Australian students took part in SA Water’s free education program The Well in 2025, with teachers and educators embracing the utility’s curriculum-aligned resources, virtual experiences and in-person learning opportunities
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Led by SA Water Education Specialist Jade Cornish, the program continues to grow as schools seek engaging, real-world content that supports learning across all year levels, reaching a record 8,728 students.

Last year’s participation included 32 site tours reaching 946 students, 37 hands-on workshops involving 882 students, and 177 school incursions bringing specialist facilitators directly into classrooms to connect with 5,495 students.

This represents a significant increase in the program’s reach in 2025, up from 6,449 students engaged in The Well in 2024, 5,032 in 2023 and 2,124 in 2022.

Jade said the record participation reflects both the quality and accessibility of the program.

“The Well is designed to make South Australia’s water story accessible to every student, no matter where they live or what year level they’re in,” she said.

“Every resource is linked to the Australian curriculum, and we’ve developed programs that build capability across literacy, numeracy, digital skills, ethical understanding and creative and critical thinking.

“Teachers tell us they appreciate being able to choose from online resources, virtual experiences, and in-person workshops that we tailor for early years through to secondary and senior schooling.”

The Well offers a comprehensive suite of free learning tools that draw on SA Water’s operational expertise across engineering, environmental science, water security, customer service and cultural engagement.

These include Operation Aqua, a real-time decision-making game supporting creative and critical thinking; digital literacy tools such as a virtual tour of the Adelaide Desalination Plant and the Project Desalination build-your-own-plant challenge; and communication-focused activities such as the Dripville FM lesson plan, which tasks students with creating persuasive radio or video ads promoting water-wise habits.

Ethical understanding is supported through the World’s Water Crisis lessons exploring global and local water scarcity and how it affects communities, while intercultural understanding is deepened through Water Wisdom, a series sharing knowledge and stories from Kaurna, Barngarla, Boandik, Ngarrindjeri, and Adnyamanthanha community members.

Teachers can further support literacy development through the Water Stories workbook, and numeracy through access to live water data, including River Murray flows, reservoir levels and desalination plant production, along with tools that allow students to compare their own drinking water samples with SA Water’s water quality data.

Younger students are also encouraged to become sustainability leaders through the Water Guardians program, which builds personal and social capability by empowering children to advocate for smart water use in their own homes.

Jade said SA Water’s depth of expertise is central to the program’s success.

“The Well works closely with operators, scientists, engineers and cultural advisers to ensure every program reflects real-world practice and South Australia’s unique water challenges,” she said.

“It means students aren’t just learning about water, they’re learning directly from the people who manage it every day.”

Jade said one of The Well’s strengths is its ability to highlight the depth and diversity of SA Water’s operations.

“A lot of people don’t realise just how many different roles exist within an organisation like ours,” she said.

“From microbiologists and hydrologists to network planners, field crews, cultural heritage advisers and customer specialists, it takes a whole community of experts to deliver safe, reliable water every day.

“Through The Well, students get to see science, engineering, culture and community work come to life and that sparks curiosity about future pathways they may never have considered.”

The Well is free for all teachers and community educators across South Australia, with bookings now open for the 2026 school year.

For more information or to access resources, visit sawater.com.au/education-and-community/education-the-well