Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize past winners
Challenge yourself at the Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize.
An annual water science competition for high school students.
2024 Winner
Lily Rofail, PLC Sydney
Growing up in Sydney, Lily has always been interested in scientific, environmental, and social issues around water. At 16 years old, this young scientist is interested in solving global water problems and how she can make a difference.
Lily’s project "Hey-sop! Fix-up! and Avo-clean Water System" investigates the use of water hyssop (Bacopa monnieri) and avocado skin powder as natural solutions to reduce heavy metal contamination in aquatic environments. The research focuses on the bioremediation potential of these materials, specifically their ability to mitigate copper toxicity, a common pollutant in Australian water bodies. Duckweed was used to assess the effectiveness of these treatments in removing copper from water. This approach highlights an eco-friendly and cost-effective method for tackling water contamination issues.
Read the full article on Water Source here.
2023 Winner
Mikayla Rodger, Meriden School
Mikayla's project involves research into the causes of toxic cyanobacteria blooms and the development of a system which mitigates the risk. Cyanobacteria blooms plague global waterways and seriously impact the health of aquatic organisms, terrestrial animals, and humans. This threat is growing in prevalence alongside climate change and thus she aimed to design a system which prevents uncontrolled cyanobacteria reproduction (a bloom event), whilst allowing natural populations to exist. The design, the SolarCyanoSlayer, is also aimed to be self-sustaining for long-term implementation and constructed of biologically derived and recycled materials, reducing the embodied energy of construction. When placed in simulated eutrophic conditions the invention was demonstrated to be highly effective in countering cyanobacteria blooms and subsequently improving overall water quality.
Read the full article on Water Source here
2022 Winner
Julia Cummins, PLC Sydney
Read the full article on Water Source here.
2021 Winner
Annabelle Strachan, Meriden School
Read the full article on Water Source here.
2020 Winner
2020 Winner - Emma Serisier, Bishop Druitt College
Read the full article on Water Source here.
2019 Winner
Macinley Butson, The Illawarra Grammar School, New South Wales
The SODIS Sticker: Development and testing of a Film based detector system for appropriate Ultraviolet Solar Disinfection (SODIS) of Water
Macinley has developed the SODIS sticker, an innovative ultraviolet radiation sticker which accurately measures the solar UV exposure required to sanitise drinking water. This is done through a high accuracy transparent UV-sensitive film coupled with a partially UV blocking filter, which allows the SODIS sticker to measure direct UV exposure from the sun and reflected UV from other objects. At just over one cent to produce, it is also a cost-effective and safe way of purifying drinking water for developing communities
Following Macinley winning the Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize in May 2019, she went on to take home the International Stockholm Junior Water Prize in August 2019. The Prize was presented to Macinley by HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
Read more here about Macinley's win in Stockholm
View our 2019 Finalist Video Pitches
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