Regional Youth Water Education Programs
Example water education programs and resources produced by Cooperative Extension in the Southern Region include:
- Water Whiz Quizzes - Short, fun quizzes that teach about water and health, water use around the house, and agricultural water use.
- The Alabama Water Quality Curriculum for Grades 4 through 12 is about the quality of the water that is used on a daily basis, with an emphasis on water issues in Alabama.
- Oklahoma Aqua Times is a water quality 4-H School Enrichment program for third through sixth graders. Oklahoma Aqua Times looks at the complexities of preserving one of our most precious natural resources--water.
- Give Water A Hand is a national watershed education program designed to engage young people in local environmental service projects. The Give Water A Hand Action Guide may be downloaded free from this web site.
- Investigating Water is an environmental education curriculum developed by the Texas 4-H program. Students examine topics such as the physical properties of water, watershed structure, water conservation and factors that affect water quality.
Other sites with information about water quality education include:
- The Water Sourcebooks contain 324 activities for grades K-12. Major sections include: Introduction to Water, Drinking and Wastewater Treatment, Surface Water, Groundwater, Wetlands and Coastal, Correlations, Glossary of Terms, Fact Sheets
- What's Up With Our Nation's Waters? This booklet, designed primarily for middle-school youth, presents key findings of the EPA’s National Water Quality Report in an easy-to-read fashion and includes projects for school or fun, a water quiz, and a glossary and resources for more information.
- Information organized by the U.S. Geological Survey on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.
- Educating Young People About Water materials can help you develop a community-based, youth water education program that targets youth and links key community members in partnerships--all working toward common water education goals.
- Girl Scouts can earn a Water Drop Patch while working to improve local water quality. Potential activities include storm drain stenciling, visiting a sewage treatment plant, organizing and conducting a stream cleanup, helping a community watershed volunteer group with a project, and becoming a volunteer water quality monitor.
- The Groundwater Foundation website explains groundwater to young children.