Narromine High School students have taken out the champion title in a challenge to waterproof the west through a recycling and education system.
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The school was among nine high school teams to take part in the 2019 Game Changer Challenge in Dubbo on August 8 and 9.
The teams were asked to answer the 2019 challenge question, 'how might we utilise technology for the betterment of humanity?'.
Narromine High School's pitch to overcome water shortages was RES (Recycle, Educate and Store).
The project looked at ways of increasing water recycling opportunities and using the resulting increased water flows to protect the endangered Darling River snail and platypus.
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The students also saw increased tourism opportunities around an attached water education centre.
Narromine High teachers Chris Schubert and Sarah Mallon said they were incredibly proud of the students' efforts.
"They have surprised themselves and definitely the event has taken them out of their comfort zone," Ms Mallon said.
She said the majority of the team came from farms so it was not surprising the issue they had addressed was the drought.
"They are all really feeling the impact of the drought on their friends and families," she said.
Narromine High School student Joann Fidock said she had been surprised by how much fun the event was.
"We were all really engaged and I've learned my classmates are very hard workers and really creative," she said.
Judging panel spokesperson NSW Department of Education director Linda Doherty said the range of issues addressed had impressed the judges.
"We really felt they had addressed issues that were of concern within their own communities and had designed very practical solutions that could be easily implemented," she said.
The challenge was held as part of the 65th Education Week, which is an annual event to celebrate NSW public education and communicate the achievements of schools, their students, staff and families.