This week in Beyond Recycling, students of Adam Robertson Elementary School learned about water. Students shared what they love about water: quenching their thirst, jumping in a lake on a hot summer day, warm showers, rain, and more. In this lesson, the students become water managers/community members in a tricky situation. In one scenario, the students only have access to dirty water, which they have to walk a long way to get. In the other scenario, they have clean water, but only a small amount. The students have to work together to figure out how they are going to share the water knowing that they can’t possibly fulfill the needs of everyone! One student shared that when her family lived in Fiji, they had to walk to access clean drinking water.
Even in the Upper Columbia Basin, a water rich area, we experience shortages sometimes. In Creston, there are often water restrictions in the summer, and we discussed how it is challenging to keep farmers, industry and houses all supplied with water in the summer when the water in the creeks are low. The students left with a greater appreciation for water, and why water conservation is important in our communities.
