Stephanie was selected to represent the country after going up against two other students in the Australian final, during the Australian Water Association’s OzWater ‘10 in Brisbane this month.

Stephanie said she was looking forward to attending the Stockholm conference.

“I am pretty excited and pretty shocked. I never thought I would get this far.”

“I now have to do a bit more research, produce more results and design a physical display then present them all in Sweden in early September.”

Stephanie said the OzWater conference was very technical but still interesting.

The other students did their presentations on the effect of irrigation and fertilisers on cabbages and a population study on the Gold Coast and the effect this would have on water supplies.

After presenting her project to a panel of three judges Stephanie was announced as the winner during a gala dinner for 1200 people during the conference.

The Australian Water Association will cover the costs of her travel to Stockholm for the conference.

Her mother will accompany Stephanie to Sweden.

During the week-long visit Stephanie said she would also participate in an exchange trip, allowing her to see the sights while participating in the junior water prize.

To undertake her project, Stephanie visited the wetlands in the local area to measure their capacity to filter water.

She also visited Albury through a Rotary exchange camp where she was able to study the Albury City Council project to revive a former wetland through recycled water.

Stephanie then designed a wetland model at her home to undertake a controlled study of its capacity to filter grey water from her household.

Stephanie intends to pursue a career in environmental science and is undertaking the class for her Higher School Certificate through the Dubbo School of Distance Education.