Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize - Previous Recipients
2018 Winner: Minh Nga Nguyen, Sydney Girls High School, New South Wales
Recycling Waste into Biochar: A Sustainable Wastewater Filter and Fertiliser for the Agricultural Industry
Minh Nga Nguyen, Sydney Girls High School (NSW)
Nga’s project is entitled “Recycling Waste into Biochar”, a sustainable waste water filter and fertilizer for the agricultural industry. Her project formed a model of application in which agricultural plant wastes are recycled into a multipurpose biochar charcoal, that can filter wastewater and fertilise plants. Nga found that bamboo biochar filter packs could remove 45.6% of harmful pollutants in wastewater, lowering pollutant content to meeting Australian guidelines. Her findings have the potential for application in the agricultural industry, allowing farmers to recover polluting plant wastes and turn it into biochar used to treat livestock wastewater, as well as aid crop growth.
View Nga's poster
2017 Winner: Macinley Butson, The Illawarra Grammar School, New South Wales
Macinley’s project involved the design and testing of a simple and affordable mechanical device to help solve the problems of clean water and power for people in developing communities. The Solar System, which produces solar energy, provides a supply of clean potable water for personal use as well as a sterile water supply for medical use. Macinley’s invention has the potential to help many people around the world as it can increase green energy power generation by over 70% per day and supply clean water daily.
Read more about Macinley's wining project
View Macinley's poster
The Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize was awarded at Ozwater’17 in Sydney. Watch the video below and hear what Macinley said about winning the award:
In our second video Macinley shares with us her Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize experience:
2016
Mohamed Jakaria, Queensland Academies Health Science Campus, Southport, Queensland
Mohamed’s investigation examined the efficiency of Elodea canadensis in removing nitrate in
effluent discharged from wastewater treatment plants. This was explored by answering the
research question: What is the effect of increasing surface area of Elodea canadensis on the
assimilation of nitrate in effluent discharged from Beenleigh wastewater treatment plant? This
autotrophic aquatic plant’s ability to use inorganic nitrogen for growth provides an ecologically
friendly solution to the tertiary treatment of wastewater.
Click here to read more about Mohamed's wining project
Click here to view Mohamed's poster
The Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize was awarded at Ozwater’16 in Melbourne. Watch the video below and hear what Mohamed said at the awards ceremony:
2015
William Tsai, Queensland Academy for Health Sciences
The effect of nitrate levels on the growth of Anabaena Circinalis
Click here to read more about William's wining project
Click here to view William's poster
2014
Lewis Nitschinsk
An investigation into the optimal reclamation point of phosphate from an industrial wastewater treatment facility through chemical precipitation using Calcium Chloride.
2013
Declan Fahey, Hellyer College
Facing the Reality of Groundwater Salinity.
2012
I-Ji Jung, Queensland Academy for Health Sciences
Polymer Power: The extraction of divalent heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions using sodium polyacrylate and its potential use to treat heavy metal contaminated waterways in Queensland, Australia.
2011
Muthuja Bavanendrakumar, Queensland Academy for Health Sciences
Eutrophication of Waterways from Golf Corse Runoff
2010
Stephanie Reed, Mudgee High School
Artificial Wetlands: Recycling Household Grey Water.
2009
Storm Holwill, Marist Regional College
In the Name of Freshwater – An investigation into the capacity of marine environments to cultivate the microalgae Dunaliella tertiolecta to sequester atmospheric and industrial carbon dioxide and produce plant bio-mass for bio-fuel production without the use of fresh water.
2008
Dayffyd and Gwylim Klippel-Cooper , Glenunga International High School
Water Filtration utilizing Sea Shells.
2007
Robbie Bishop-Taylor, Great Lakes College
The Identification of Critical Salinity Thresholds for Upper Estuarine Plants
2006
Linda Van and Alex De Sousa, St James College
The Sustainability of the Brisbane River for Recreation and Commercial Use
2005
Andrew Stewart, Karabar Distance Education Centre
Multi-tiered Wetlands – A New Technique for Improving the Efficiency of Artificial Wetlands
2004
Nilmini Wijemunige, Somerville House
Water Treatment with Free-floating Aquatic Plants
2003
Andrew McLeod, North Sydney Boys High School
Improving Water Quality with Terrestrial Plants
2002
Andrew Shaw and Nathan Sawyer, Newton Moore College
Breeding and Releasing the Native Western Pygmy Perch
2001
Neil Robinson and Stuart Fearon, Newton Moore College
Habitat restoration and its impact on frog populations
2000
Jonathon Duniam, Marist Regional College
Habitat Assessment for the Burnie Burrowing Crayfish (Engaeus yabbimunna) on Shorewell Creek, Burnie, Tasmania