The challenge

Use the following resources to discover some key ways you can reduce your water consumption:

• Water wise by Sydney Water
• Reducing Water Demand by Your Home, Australian Government Department of Industry, Science Energy and Resources.

Get your child to write a list of the tips they'd find practical for your household to start implementing.

The conversation

• Discuss the recommendations your teen has given to make your household’s water use more efficient.
• Get them to create an action plan for this list. Try to do these things for the next three months and when you get your next water bill, investigate to see if it made a difference.
• When you get your new water bill, get your teen to compare it to your previous water bill. If you are able to continue with the water-saving strategies your teen developed, how much money and how much water could you save over a year?
• After you've trialled their water-saving ideas as a family for three months, ask them if there's anything they think you should be doing differently. Invite the whole family to join in on this conversation.

The career

The ability to use numbers to make and measure improvements is a really valuable skill. It's hard to find a job where this capability isn't important. From sustainability officers to waiters and shearers to CEOs, being able to use maths to help yourself and others grow and improve really matters.