<- Homepage: Water: a balancing act
Why do we Need Irrigation?
Irrigation New Zealand Chief Executive Elizabeth Soal talks about what irrigation is and why it is needed. You could think about the food products you and your family eat that are or might be grown with irrigation.
Balancing Water Uses and Values
There are many plants and animals relying on the river. And we humans use rivers for a variety of activities. People also have historical and spiritual connections to rivers. In this video John Sunckell talks about the different uses of a river we need to consider when making decisions about how it is used.
The Central Plains Water Scheme
Fiona Crombie provides an overview of how the Central Plains Water Scheme works.
Environmental Management and Central Plains Water
You're at the Sheffield Storage Pond. Find out more about this facility. Then, hear from Fiona Crombie about some of the things Central Plains Water is doing to be environmentally responsible.
From the River to the Farm
You are down by the Waimakariri River, one of two rivers used by Central Plains Water to supply farms for irrigation. In this video Fiona explains how water is taken from the river and distributed to the farms. I wonder how much water is taken for irrigation compared with the total river flow volume.
Irrigation and Crop Farming
Meet Damon Summerfield on his farm near Darfield. Damon talks about the various crops he grows and how switching from dryland farming to irrigation has changed his farming practice.
Creating Ideal Conditions for Plant Growth
Damon Summerfield explains the importance of water for crop farming, and the benefits of irrigation on the Canterbury Plains. There is an opportunity in the video to compare an irrigated paddock with a non-irrigated one, both used to graze lambs.
A Closer Look at an Irrigator
Here is your opportunity to get up close to an irrigator and see it in action. You will also discover how technology in the form of an app allows farmers to remotely control their irrigators.
Different Uses for Stored Water
The Selwyn River, originally known by Māori as Waikirikiri, runs alongside the camping and picnic area of Chamberlains Ford – the location for this video. Here, Fiona Crombie describes how Central Plains Water helps the river by topping up groundwater that feeds it, thus making it flow better. Why does the river need help and what advantages does improving its flow have?
Irrigation and the Local Community
Meet the mayor of Selwyn Sam Broughton. Sam talks about the value of water for the Selwyn district. He also highlights the many different interest groups that are involved in decisions about the use of water.
Careers in the Irrigation Industry
Steve Breneger from Irrigation NZ talks about the variety of jobs and career pathways that relate to water use and irrigation. You could think of other types of work in this area that weren’t mentioned. Maybe there are jobs that don’t exist yet!
Video question sheet for schoolsWord (31k) | PDF (217k) | Google Doc to use for each video (based on SOLO Taxonomy).
