Secondary project briefs (ages 11+)


Bronze Awards are typically completed by students aged 11+. They complete a ten-hour project which is a perfect introduction to STEM project work. Over the course of the project, teams of students design their own investigation, record their findings, and reflect on their learnings. This process gives students a taste of what it is like to be a scientist or engineer in the real-world.


Silver Awards are typically completed by students aged 14+ over thirty hours. Project work at Silver level is designed to stretch your students and enrich their STEM studies. Students direct the project, determining the project’s aim and how they will achieve it. They carry out the project, record and analyse their results and reflect on the project and their learnings. All Silver projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform.


Gold Awards are typically completed by students aged 16+ over seventy hours. Students’ projects are self-directed, longer term and immerse them in real research. At this level, we recommend students work with a mentor from their chosen STEM field of study. All Gold projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform. There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.


There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.


Find out how to build practical CREST projects into secondary science lessons using our free teacher guidance pack. Supporting this guidance are easy-to-use, free-to-download mapping workbooks, which match individual Bronze, Silver and Gold CREST Award projects with each area of the secondary science curricula for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can download and save your own copy of the relevant mapping workbook via the following links:


England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales


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Hydrology - Gold pack

This resource is published under an Attribution - non-commercial - no derivatives 4.0 International creative commons licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Teacher guide Growing

Teacher guide Growing with greywater Climate change and food supply Greywater is wastewater – typically water from sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machines (but not toilets). Greywater is non potable, which means it is unsafe to drink. But in some places greywater is reused for other things, for example toilet flushing or crop irrigation. Reusing greywater helps reduce demand for fresh clean water, and relieves pressure on wastewater treatment systems. Although water quality affects a plant’s health, there are many plants that are able to grow even when they are given water that is polluted or that has some salt content. Greywater may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, hair, soap, and cleaning products. So how safe is soapy water on plants, especially if we are eating those plants? Understanding what types of fluids plants can use can help scientists learn more about how to meet the needs of plants as well as people in times of drought. In this project, students will design and conduct an experiment to investigate the potential for using greywater on crops. As well as measuring how well the plants grow, they will need to consider how to determine whether the crops would be safe to eat. Prompts • How much data do you need to collect to make your conclusions statistically significant? Encourage students to think about how many plants they will grow and to think about growing control plants. • How will you measure your greywater? Is all greywater the same? It is recommended that students intentionally make their own greywater so that they know exactly what is inside it and can control and replicate it, and avoid any dangerous substances. • What tests will you perform to find out if food produced from plants watered with greywater is safe to drink? 10

Student brief Growing with greywater Climate change and food supply (Biology, plants, water) Have you ever wondered if we can use greywater on crops? Imagine you are a farmer. One of your biggest expenses is water. You know that everyday there is a lot of almost clean water going down the sink in the local area! You are also concerned about the future impacts of climate change, and know that in the future you are likely to experience more drought and water shortages in your area. You want to find out if your crops would still grow well if they were watered with greywater, and if they would be safe for people to eat. Design and conduct a series of experiments to find out. Getting started There are two parts to your project – finding out if plants can grow with greywater, and finding out if they are safe to eat if they have been watered with greywater. Start by planning out your first experiment – think about how long you have and which plants you can grow within that time. What will you compare your plant grown with greywater to? Is all greywater the same? It is recommended that you make your own greywater so that you can know and control exactly what is inside it, and replicate it for the purposes of your experiment. Start with some warm tap water and add small amounts of things found in greywater, e.g. washing up liquid and small amounts of food and drink. You could try different brands and concentrations of washing up liquids. Things to think about • What tests will you perform to find out if food produced from plants watered with greywater is safe to eat? • Do your results apply to all crops? Or would you need to perform these tests on every type of plant? • How many plants will you grow to have a good sample size? Useful resources • Application of domestic greywater for irrigating agricultural products: A brief study https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352 484719311862 • Greywater recycling https://farmerhealth.org.au/2014/03/21/greywaterrecycling • Effects of greywater irrigation on plant growth, water and soil properties https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236871967_Ef fects_of_greywater_irrigation_on_plant_growth_water_u se_and_soil_properties • Watering gardens with greywater – plants that like greywater https://www.gwig.org/watering-gardens-with-greywaterplants-that-like-greywater Health and safety To avoid any accidents, make sure you stick to the following health and safety guidelines before getting started: • Wear eye protection. • Decide what you need to do to reduce any risks, such as wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. • Make sure you do not go over the recommended user concentrations for ANY products you are adding to the greywater – refer to the instructions on the bottle for these. • Do not use any meat or dairy products or any food which is either beyond its use before date or is obviously mouldy, smelly or unfit to eat. Ideal items to test would be; cooking oil, pasta, rice, bread, grains, crisps, nuts, biscuits, fruit or vegetables. These should be in small pieces, but do not mash them up. • Avoid using dishwasher/washing machine tablets or liquids due to their potential corrosive contents. • Filter off the greywater and place the filtered remains in non-recycling waste. • Do NOT store or keep any greywater for future use – it should be made up and used straight away. Excess greywater should be poured down the drain with lots of water and you must wash your hands afterwards. • Do NOT taste or eat/drink any of the items used. • Do NOT be tempted to use actual greywater, as this will likely contain many unknown items. • Do NOT drink the water or eat any plants grown with greywater – these may not be safe to consume. • Find out if any of the materials, equipment or methods are hazardous using http://science.cleapss.org.uk/Resources/Student-Safety- Sheets/ to assess the risks. (Think about what could go wrong and how serious it might be.) • Make sure there is plenty of space to work. • Clear up slip or trip hazards promptly. • Make sure your teacher agrees with your plan and risk assessment. 11

Bronze level

Ten hour projects recommended for ages 11+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Bronze Awards page.


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Bronze

Silver level

Thirty hour projects recommended for ages 14+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Silver Award page.


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Silver

Gold level

Seventy hour projects recommended for ages 16+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Gold Awards page


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Gold

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