Water Conservation/Sustainability
Much of our water use is hidden. Think about what you had for lunch. A hamburger, for example, requires water to raise wheat for the bun, to grow hay and corn to feed the cattle and to process the bread and beef. Together with French fries and a soft drink, this all-American meal uses about 1,500 gallons of water — enough to fill a small swimming pool. How about your clothes? To grow cotton for a pair of jeans takes about 400 gallons. A shirt requires about 400 gallons. How do you get to school or to the store? To produce the amount of finished steel in a car has in the past required about 32,000 gallons of water. Similarly, the steel in a 30-pound bicycle required 480 gallons. Everything uses water and a lot of it! This shows that industry must continue to strive to reduce water use through manufacturing processes that use less water, and through recycling of water. |
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As guardians of young minds, we play a crucial role in shaping the future. In this guide, we'll explore the exciting world of water conservation and sustainability, offering practical tips and engaging activities to empower both you and your young learners to become advocates for our precious planet. By incorporating these strategies, you can foster a sense of environmental stewardship in your students, equipping them with the knowledge and enthusiasm to become lifelong advocates for water conservation and sustainability. Together, let's nurture a generation of little water stewards who will make a big impact on the health of our planet. Thank you for guiding our future environmental leaders!
As guardians of young minds, we play a crucial role in shaping the future. In this guide, we'll explore the exciting world of water conservation and sustainability, offering practical tips and engaging activities to empower both you and your young learners to become advocates for our precious planet. By incorporating these strategies, you can foster a sense of environmental stewardship in your students, equipping them with the knowledge and enthusiasm to become lifelong advocates for water conservation and sustainability. Together, let's nurture a generation of little water stewards who will make a big impact on the health of our planet. Thank you for guiding our future environmental leaders!
- Understanding the Importance of Water: Begin your water conservation journey by discussing with your students the fundamental role water plays in our lives. Share age-appropriate information about the water cycle, emphasizing the finite nature of this invaluable resource. Encourage questions and curiosity to lay the groundwork for a deeper understanding.
- Teaching the ABCs of Water Conservation: Introduce the concept of water conservation using simple language and relatable examples. Discuss daily activities where water is used, such as washing hands or watering plants, and brainstorm ways to do these activities more responsibly. Consider creating a classroom pledge where children commit to small actions like turning off taps when not in use.
- Interactive Learning through Play: Children learn best through play, so incorporate water-saving games into your lessons. From counting water drops to matching water-related images, turn the learning experience into an interactive and enjoyable adventure. These games not only educate but also instill a sense of responsibility and fun in water conservation.
- Hands-On Activities for Sustainability: Engage your students in hands-on, eco-friendly projects to deepen their understanding of sustainability. Planting a classroom garden, creating recycled watering cans, or designing water-wise posters can instill a sense of pride and accomplishment while promoting the importance of caring for our environment.
- Aqua, the Classroom Water Ambassador: Introduce Aqua, a friendly water droplet character, as the class mascot. Make Aqua the ambassador for water-saving initiatives, and encourage students to share their water-saving achievements or ideas with Aqua. This personification can make the concept more relatable and enjoyable for young minds.
- Educational Resources and Visual Aids: Utilize age-appropriate resources and visual aids to enhance your teaching. Incorporate videos, storybooks, and educational posters that highlight the significance of water conservation. These tools can serve as valuable supplements to your lessons and capture the attention of young learners.
- Understanding Water's Role in Food Production: Begin by introducing the concept of water's role in growing the food we eat. Discuss how fruits, vegetables, and grains need water to grow and thrive. What about livestock? How much water is needed in animal agriculture? Engage students in conversations about the journey of food from farm to table, emphasizing the essential role of water in this process and whys we can eat more sustainably. Encourage discussions about making sustainable food choices. Discuss the benefits of local produce, seasonal eating, and the impact of food transportation on water resources. Empower students to make small changes, like choosing water-efficient crops, reducing food waste, reducing animal consumption, as a part of their commitment to water-conscious living.
- Field Trips and Guest Speakers: Organize field trips or invite local experts to share insights on water conservation. Visiting a water treatment facility or having a guest speaker discuss the importance of sustainable practices can provide real-world context, making the learning experience more tangible and memorable.
- Creating Water Ambassadors: Empower your students to become water ambassadors within their families and communities. Encourage them to share their newfound knowledge and habits, creating a ripple effect of positive change beyond the classroom.
Fun Fact: How does the amount of water it takes to grow broccoli compare to strawberries?
On an area of land the size of a football field: 81,000 gallons of water for 15,000 heads of broccoli, 1.1 million gallons of water for 1 million almonds, 200,000 gallons of water for 500,000 strawberries
Questions/Discussion
- What kinds of water waste might individual families and communities be able to reduce?
- What are ways that you use water at home? Do you think you waste any water at home (use more than you could if you changed your behavior)?
- What is water waste? When or how is water wasted? What are some other sources of water waste at home?
- What determines whether or not people have access to clean water? What are the challenges that different people deal with to get clean water?
- What are some water sustainability issues we are facing around the world?
- What controls whether or not people have access to clean freshwater?
- What can happen when we pump too much water out of the ground? What accounts for the depletion of groundwater?
- Does it take more water to grow crops or raise animals? How does the amount of water needed to raise farm animals compare to the water needed to grow
fruits and vegetables? Why is so much more water needed to raise animals? - What other factors might come into play when making your decision about what to produce on your
farm? (my total area of land, my annual availability of water, market prices for each product, my personal preferences (e.g. pigs are smelly!), how long it takes to raise animals vs. plants, etc.)
Family Connection
- Do you know how much water was used to grow your food and to produce your clothes and the things you buy?-Calculate your water footprint
- As a family explore water use habits and ways they can reduce water waste in their home using a water calculator from the Alliance for Water Efficiency and a leaky faucet calculator from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Science School.
- As a family evaluate your own environmental impact using an online tool called Your Plan, Your Planet, and evaluate simple ways to reduce their ecological footprint as an individual or community.
- Have the students make 2 lists with their families: What do they currently do to save water and what can they start to do to help conserve?
- Here are a few ways that kids & families can get involved in saving water resources.
- Check out the Water Footprint of Food Guide to learn your food’s water footprint.
- Find ways to stop wasting food and remember that discarded food wastes all the resources it took to produce that food, including water.
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Learn more...
- Kids in other countries have to walk a long way to get water and why it’s important that we don’t waste this resource.-A Global STEM Activity & Family Service Project
- EPA-WaterSense for Kidswww.epa.gov/watersense/watersense-kids
- Tip the Tank Game
- Use the Water Footprint Calculator to find out how your diet affects your personal water footprint.