Get Excited About Water!
Aug
2
Written by:
8/2/2010 9:20 AM
Do you want to get kids excited about water? Do you want to get involved in your community? Do you want to be part of a world wide effort? Do you want to have fun both learning and teaching at the same time? Do you want to make a difference? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to get involved in World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD).
WWWD is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies and then share the result world wide.
An easy-to-use kit enables everyone from children to adults to sample local water bodies for a core set of water quality parameters including temperature, pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. Results are shared with participating communities around the globe through the World Water Monitoring Day web site.
The Water Environment (WEF) and the International Water Association coordinate World Water Monitoring Day, which actually started out as a day. October 18th was initially selected as WWMD in recognition of the anniversary of the U.S. Clean Water Act, which was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1972 to restore the country’s water resources. In 2007, the period for testing was expanded from September 18th through October 18th to facilitate participation in parts of the world where temperatures reach freezing by mid October. Today the extended monitoring window is from March 22nd – December 31st.
Now is the time to get involved and it couldn’t be easier.
- Register your site: choose any lake, stream, bay or other water body where you can safely monitor. Register your site at www.worldwatermonitoringday.org.
- Prepare your monitoring equipment: use your own equipment or purchase an easy to use kit via the World Water Monitoring Day website. Each kit has all the equipment needed with enough reagents to perform each test up to 50 times.
- Monitor your site: invite others to help you monitor or do it your self. I strongly suggest doing it with a group. I can even hook you up with a local school if you are interested.
- Report your data: once you do the work, let others know the results. You can submit your results via the WWMD website through December 31st.
Lenny Young of the MWRA has participated in WWMD activities with 3rd and 4th grade students from the Linden School in Malden for the past few years. Here’s what the teachers and a few students had to say…
The kids loved the field trip. They are secure with science vocabulary after their hands-on data collection and observation. Debbie Smith, Grade 4 teacher
We wrote in our science journals about the day. The general feedback from the students – Awesome! They understood the testing implications. Jennie Paretti, Grade 3 teacher
Dear Mr. Young,
Thank you for letting us go with you to test the water temperature, pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. It was fun! My favorite part was testing the dissolved oxygen. It’s because you put the tablets in and you have to wait. Waiting takes lots of patience. I have a lot of patience. After watching the color change, we saw which color it was closest to. I also liked the part when we were standing near a river and hunting for stuff. I will thank my Dad for coming but mostly thank you for letting us do all that fun stuff! It also saves the environment. Thanks you so much. Sincerely, Yilei, Gr. 3
I received an email from Jeanne Caron, a 5th grade teacher from the Annie L. Sargent Elementary School in North Andover praising CH2M Hill’s Matt Greenberg and Theresa Himmer…
Dear Meg,
I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that the World Water Monitoring Day Program has been a huge success! CH2M Hill’s Matt Greenberg and Theresa Himmer have come to all four fifth grade classes (over 100 students) two years in a row. They have tested the water with the kids and taught them invaluable lessons. These two outstanding professionals should be recognized for their work with the students. They go above and beyond and leave resources for us to use as well as forward us emails with useful links. Thank you so much for pairing us with two such wonderful people who are truly making a difference! Sincerely, Jeanne Caron
And you, too, can truly make a difference by getting involved with World Water Monitoring Day. To learn more or to get involved in WWMD, go to www.worldwatermonitoringday.org or feel free to contact me at meg.tabacsko@mwra.state.ma.us
To celebrate 2010 World Water Monitoring Day, NEWEA will be hosting a KICK-OFF EVENT on Friday, September 10 in Woburn, MA. Join Us and learn more about WWMD!
Written By: Meg Tabacsko, NEWEA Registration Chair and Public Education Committee Member
Meg Tabacsko manages the School Education Program for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Her primary responsibility is visiting area schools (pre-K through the college level) to educate teachers and students about the public health significance of water supply and wastewater treatment. Topics covered during inter-active and hands-on activities in the classroom include source protection, treatment and distribution of drinking water and the environmental benefits of a state of the art wastewater treatment facility. Meg has been employed with the MWRA since October of 1986 and developed the MWRA’s award winning wastewater education program in 1998.
Meg reaches about 10,000 students each year. In addition to the hundreds of classroom presentations she does, she also conducts teacher training workshops, creates curricula, assists with Deer Island tours, and oversees an annual poster and writing contest. For the past 3 years, she has been very involved in introducing World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) to New England schools and youth groups.
Meg has been an active member of NEWEA since 1994. She serves as chairperson of the Registration Committee and is past chair and current member of both the Membership and the Public Education committees.