New DkIT App Shares Love of Water with Children

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) were delighted to recently host an event on campus for UN World Water Day 2023 which highlighted the importance of water for our future.

Dr Edel Healy, Head of School of Health & Science, said “Water is life and the reality of a safe and sustainable source of water is a dream for many people globally. Here in Ireland, we have an abundance of water but sometimes we find ourselves taking it for granted, which could have a negative impact on our water’s sustainable future”.

At this event which celebrated water and recognised the value of re-connecting with our water sources and our environments, Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens and Dr Suzanne Linnane from the Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies launched the school’s mode of their new digital App AquaInverts.  This new App is a part of their H₂O Heroes Environment Education programme that is aimed at primary schools.  Dr Linnane said, “Children are the future and as such H₂O Heroes aims to equip them with skill sets to allow them to protect and manage their water resources into the future. AquaInverts is designed to work with their world in which technology is the new reality”.

The Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies has a long history of water and environmental education from working in rural Ireland with the Group Water Scheme sector to co-designing solutions for safe and sustainable water management in sub-Saharan Africa. Water matters to everyone and valuing it as the precious resource it is, is vital for us all.

Dr Edel Healy added, “Sustainability and the environment is embedded into all our teaching in DkIT, and we have some extremely important research taking place in the Institute that will bring positive impact both nationally and internationally”.

The school’s mode of AquaInverts is part of a broader citizen science platform which allows the wider public to become involved in the generation of quality data in relation to their local stream of river, while at the same time valuing their contribution to research. AquaInverts forms a key component of Samuel Perpétuo Rodrigues’ PhD project which started in September 2022 and is co-supervised by Caroline, Suzanne and Dr David Getty (Emeritus).

Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens said, “we are delighted to launch this App on World Water Day 2023, both Suzanne and I are passionate about water, the outdoor and kids. 10 years ago, we started H2O Heros to empower children and help them engage in STEM, this App brings H2O Heros to another level”.

Dr Healy added “I’d like to congratulate Suzanne and Caroline for this fantastic project and the phenomenal energy and enthusiasm they bring to H2O Heros and for this new App which will have a huge impact on children’s education and awareness on the importance of water”.