Contact: Kristen Read, Project WET Foundation, 406-585-4185

Educational publishing industry leader singles out water education nonprofit as a finalist for four awards at a recent ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Bozeman, Mont., June 28, 2010—Continuing its tradition as an award-winning publisher of water education materials, Project WET recently received finalist honors at the Association for Educational Publishers (AEP) annual awards ceremony. In addition to having two of its Kids in Discovery series booklets and its Discover Floods: Educators’ Guide named as 2010 Finalists for prestigious AEP Distinguished Achievement Awards, Project WET was an AEP Beacon Award Finalist for excellence in educational marketing for its website and store.

“Especially considering the caliber of our competition, we are thrilled to add these honors to our organization’s list of achievements,” Project WET Foundation President and CEO Dennis Nelson said.

Other nominees for the awards included such leading educational publishers for children as National Geographic, Scholastic, Inc. and Weekly Reader.
Recognized by parents and teachers as a mark of excellence, AEP has one of the nation’s most distinguished awards programs for educational products. For more than four decades, AEP has singled out exceptional resources for teaching and learning and judged entries against the highest standards for both quality and content. To be named a finalist is recognition of outstanding achievement and leadership in the field.

As 2010 award finalists, reprints of Project WET’s booklets “Discover the Hudson River” and “Discover the Nile” will carry the 2010 Finalist AEP Distinguished Achievement Award logo on their covers. They join the list of 13 Project WET publications that have earned this honor.
With three new KIDs booklets scheduled for 2010, Project WET will have even more entries for the AEP awards next year. Following the September releases of “Discover the Waters of Tennessee” and “Discover the Waters of Nebraska,” the organization will also be releasing “California Coastal Ecosystems” in December. For more information, visit the Project WET web site, www.projectwet.org.

Learn About Award-Winning Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Materials Developed for Teachers and Students in Africa

Bozeman, Mont. 12, May, 2010 –The Project WET Foundation will present information about their current projects in 15 countries across Africa at an event being held in the Emerson Cultural Center Ballroom on Sunday, May 16, from 6-9pm. In 2007, Project WET produced customized educational materials about water, sanitation and hygiene for children and teachers in sub-Saharan Africa. Through working directly with educators and officials in Uganda, Project WET developed educational materials adapted to the specific needs of the African audience. The materials that resulted from the collaborative development process were the award-winning Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educator’s Guide and accompanying student booklet, in addition to children’s booklets and posters about the water cycle and Nile River watershed. With support from USAID these materials have reached more than five million students throughout Africa.

Project WET is one of many non-governmental organizations working to improve water, sanitation and hygiene education world-wide. Illness caused by unclean water sources are a global human rights issue. The United Nations (UN) recently announced that more people die of water-related diseases than from war. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 10% of total deaths globally can be prevented with improved access to safe drinking water. Project WET seeks to increase awareness about these global water issues while educating students on how to prevent the spread of water-related illnesses through didactic educational materials.

The African Awareness event taking place at the Emerson on Sunday, May 16 aims to raise awareness about local Bozeman groups working to make a difference in Africa. It is free to the public and community members of all ages are encouraged to attend. The event organizer, Essau Pwelle, is a native Tanzanian who has been living in Bozeman for the past four years. He is involved in many Africa-related projects including the African Orphan Fund and his own African Banjo organization. The event will include speakers from the Project WET Foundation, Engineers Without Borders, and Kangen Water. The Project WET international team will showcase fun, hands-on activities that are great for all ages. The presentations will be accompanied by local musicians, including performances by Essau Pwelle, playing his traditional Tanzanian banjo. A traditional Tanzanian dinner will also be served.

Africa Awareness Event, Sunday May 16th 2010, 6pm to 9pm

Emerson Cultural Center, 111 South Grant Avenue, Bozeman, MT 59715-5037

EVENT SCHEDULE:

TIME: 6:00 To 9:00 PM

For more information please visit www.projectwet.org.

About Project WET

Project WET is an award-winning 501(c)(3) global nonprofit that has dedicated itself to educating children, parents, teachers and community members of the world about water resources while empowering them to take action in their communities to address local water issues. Project WET achieves its mission of worldwide water education by:

• publishing water resource materials in several languages.
  
• providing training workshops on diverse water topics (i.e., watersheds, water quality, water conservation).
  
• organizing community water events, such as Make a Splash with Project WET™ water festivals and the Global Water Education Village™.
  
• building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists, now in 45 countries on five continents.

Bozeman, Mont, April 20, 2010--As part of its Earth Day celebration, Project WET is doing more than just releasing its 36th KIDs (Kids in Discovery series) booklet, entitled “Discover Recycling, Take Action!”  The worldwide non-profit organization is making a free preview digital download of this publication available on April 21 and 22 to all, through its website www.projectwet.org.

Click here

“As an organization whose work has both a strong sustainability focus and global impact, recycling is for everyone, everywhere,” states Project WET Foundation President and CEO Dennis Nelson. “We thought that helping to raise awareness about the importance of recycling would be an appropriate way to make this year’s event even more special.”

Project WET Foundation published “Discover Recycling, Take Action!” with support from Nestlé Waters North America. Filled with fun activities that promote learning, the 16-page booklet is primarily intended for children, but contains pertinent information for anyone interested in knowing more about recycling. Topics covered include: the history of waste, effect of waste on water quality, products made from recycled materials, away-from-home recycling, along with a list of actions that people can take to help improve recycling rates.

Creating and distributing educational materials is one of the ways Project WET fulfills its mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  Since 1984, Project WET has advanced the knowledge of a wide range of water-related topics around the globe by partnering with local and regional organizations across the U.S., as well as 45 countries worldwide. In addition to publishing water resource materials in several languages, Project WET provides training workshops, organizes community water events and is building an international network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.

Over 100,000 Copies of Award Winning Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Materials Reach Teachers and Students

Bozeman, Mont. 2, April, 2010 – Educational materials developed by the Project WET Foundation in Bozeman, Montana, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), were delivered to Zimbabwe in September 2009. The 150,000 books, which include booklets for students and a guide for educators with hands-on activities about Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), are in the process of being distributed to teachers and students throughout the country and have to date reached over 3,300 schools throughout all ten provinces in Zimbabwe.

Starting in 2008 Zimbabwe has seen one of the worst cholera outbreaks in recent history. According to the World Health Organization, as of May 2009 the outbreak had affected 55 of 62 districts in all ten provinces and over 98,000 suspected cases of cholera had been reported—including almost 5,000 deaths. Project WET WASH materials give students direct actions they can take to improve their healthy habits and protect themselves and their families against this deadly waterborne disease.

Due to a lack of quality and useful materials about water sanitation and hygiene for children and teachers in sub-Saharan Africa, USAID supported the development of new materials through the Project WET Foundation. Starting in 2007, Project WET worked directly with educators and officials in Uganda to identify appropriate content specific to the needs of the African audience. The result was the award-winning Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educator’s Guide and accompanying student booklet, along with additional children’s booklets and posters about the water cycle and Nile River watershed. The materials were originally distributed to 13 sub-Saharan African countries including Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia, reaching more than 30,000 schools; 175,000 teachers; and five million students.

Continued interest in the materials has instigated further printing and distribution, including the 150,000 additional copies printed for Zimbabwe. Requests for materials continue in Africa, with additional interest in adaptations for Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

For success stories related to the use of these materials, visit www.projectwet.org.

The Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educators Guide Addresses Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Topics

Bozeman, Mont. 29 July, 2009 – Project WET’s Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educators Guide, published in mid-2008 with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was named a Distinguished Achievement Award winner by the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) at AEP’s annual June Summit.  Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educators Guide is the 17th Project WET publication to earn AEP recognition.

As noted on its website, “AEP is a national, nonprofit professional organization for educational publishers and content developers.  For more than four decades, AEP’s Awards have honored outstanding resources for teaching and learning. One of the largest and longest-running awards programs for educational products, AEP’s Awards aim to:

• give credit and recognition to the organizations who are leading the way in the field of educational products and
• set benchmarks to which the rest of the industry can aspire.”

Written specifically for sub-Saharan Africa, the Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educators Guide enables teachers to take an active role in making a difference in children’s and their families’ lives. Its 40 pages are filled with engaging methods of teaching how common water-borne and hygiene-related diseases are spread as well as the healthy habits one can adopt to stop the spread of these diseases. In addition to learning how to protect their health and that of their families, students gain respect for their water sources while learning how to protect them. The publication also is available in French.

At the same time Project WET published the Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educators Guide, it also produced two children’s activity booklets: Water is Life and Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People, the companion to the Educators Guide, and a Water Cycle Poster.  Together, these four pieces were distributed to nearly a million children at 1,000 schools in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2008.  Direction for the publications’ content was provided by 64 African teachers, water experts and scientists at a writing workshop in early 2008.

A USAID project found that water education in Africa appeared virtually non-existent before the start of this project. Research indicated sparse, sporadic efforts being made in educating African children on the use of water in hygiene and sanitation or the water cycle.  Materials found lacked relevance to African children.  USAID needed materials that would make a difference in the lives of children living in sub-Saharan Africa.

And indeed the materials have made a difference.  While evaluating the materials’ effectiveness, Project WET heard from one Ugandan student, “Since we received the materials and brought them home, our mother does not allow us to drink water that is not boiled.”  A teacher also noted, “Students started asking teachers ‘Where is the soap?’ after learning the Hand Washing Song.”  In addition, at Lake Victoria Primary School, the materials inspired students to change their habits, including:  washing their hands more frequently, practicing improved personal hygiene and attending school more regularly. These changes led to ready access to boiled water for consumption and multiple hand-washing stations.

With additional funding from USAID and a partnership with the Uganda Ministry of Education, Project WET now is training more than 350 teachers in Northern Uganda to use the activities in the Educators Guide.

For success stories related to the use of these materials, visit Case Studies.

About Project WET

Since 1984, Project WET, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  Project WET achieves its mission of worldwide water education by:

• publishing water resource materials in several languages.
  
• providing training workshops on diverse water topics (i.e., watersheds, water quality, water conservation).
  
• organizing community water events, such as Make a Splash with Project WET water festivals and the Global Water Education Village™.
  
• building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.

On the web at www.projectwet.org.

Parents, teachers, child care providers urged to get kids washing their hands.

Bozeman, Mont., 01 May, 2009 – From swine flu to the common cold, hand washing is the simplest, most effective way of preventing germs from spreading. According to both the World Heath Organization and the Center for Disease Control, the first and most important way to prevent infection and illness is to wash your hands.

But how do you get kids to properly wash their hands? Sing! To get kids focused on hand washing, and empower them to take responsibility for their health, Project WET created the Hand Washing How-To activity. Kids sing the Hand Washing Song: 20 seconds of soap, water and brisk rubbing rinse the dirt and germs away—including those that may transmit swine flu and other infections.

Hand Washing Song (sung to tune of Frère Jacques)
Lather with soap
Rub your palms together
Now the backs
Of your hands
Interlace your fingers
Cleaning in between them
Now the thumbs
Clean your nails.

In the activity, kids rate the merits of soap, brisk rubbing and rinsing with clean water and practice their hand-washing technique. They are reminded of the “before” and “after” of hand washing. Wash your hands before preparing food, eating, or going to bed, and after using the toilet, coughing or sneezing into hands, or blowing your nose.

Project WET is making Hand Washing How-To available to teachers, community educators (leaders of Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, etc.), parents, day-care and after-school providers on its web site and encourages everyone who works with children to conduct this activity as soon as possible.

Hand Washing How-To is important for schools, communities and families, and enables adults to lead by example.

Download Hand Washing How-To.

About Project WET

Since 1984, Project WET, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  Project WET achieves its mission of worldwide water education by:

• publishing water resource materials in several languages.
  
• providing training workshops on diverse water topics (i.e., watersheds, water quality, water conservation).
  
• organizing community water events, such as Make a Splash with Project WET water festivals and the Global Water Education Village™.
  
• building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.

On the web at www.projectwet.org.

With a goal of educating about floods’ role, as well as flood preparedness and flood management, Project WET publications address a critical global topic.

Bozeman, Mont, 02 Feb., 2009 – Both entitled Discover Floods, a new Educators Guide and companion Kids in Discovery series (KIDs) Activity Booklet, will be released at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey (March 16 to 22, 2009).

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of U.S.Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), and developed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Project WET, Discover Floods grew out of discussions at the 2006 forum in Mexico City.

Following the 2004 Tsunami that devastated coastal communities in Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand and the following year, Hurricane Katrina in the U.S., 2006 World Water Forum leaders struggled with balancing the need to benefit from floodplains with protecting people living in flood-prone areas and preserving the environment.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, “The way we deal with floods determines whether water remains a life-providing element or becomes a destructive force against human life and economic development.”

Using Project WET’s proven methodology of presenting information through diverse, hands-on and interactive methods, these materials educate teachers, students, families and communities worldwide about risk assessment, flood management, preparedness and planning.

According to Vice President of Publications Sandra DeYonge, “Although we cannot control extreme weather events, through education we can reduce our vulnerability by assessing our risk, whether at home or traveling, and preparing a plan.”

“Through ActionEducation™, we can prepare not only our families, but also our communities,” she said. “As we seek to improve the quality of life for all people, through flood awareness education, risk assessment, management and planning, we can benefit from floodplains and help keep communities safe.”

Both Discover Floods Educators Guide and Discover Floods KIDs activity booklet can be purchased from the Project WET store in April 2009 or obtained from Project WET at the 5th World Water Forum.

About Project WET

Since 1984, Project WET, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  Project WET achieves its mission of worldwide water education by:

• publishing water resource materials in several languages.
  
• providing training workshops on diverse water topics (i.e., watersheds, water quality, water conservation).
  
• organizing community water events, such as Make a Splash with Project WET water festivals and the Global Water Education Village™.
  
• building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.

On the web at www.projectwet.org.

Hands-on water education materials are being adopted by Malawi schools to teach children the importance of water, sanitation and hygiene.

Bozeman, Montana, 02 Feb., 2009 – Project WET’s successful water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) education materials, developed in 2008 with funding from USAID, are being distributed to all 5,500 schools in Malawi.

The Malawi Ministry of Education, in partnership with UNICEF Malawi, has incorporated the Project WET hands-on WASH education materials into its new water curriculum project, impacting millions of students across the country in urban and rural schools. 

“Part of our initial project with USAID was to deliver the then-new WASH materials to schools in sub-Saharan Africa.  We received a resounding response – 2,700 schools in 29 countries requested the materials,” said John Etgen, Project WET senior vice president.

“Because we only had enough materials to meet the needs of 1,000 schools in 16 countries, the Malawi Ministry of Education and UNICEF Malawi created posters from two of the pages in one of our books.  This was a cost-effective solution that enabled Project WET to expand the reach of its WASH materials while addressing water curriculum needs in Malawi.”  

As a result of this project, millions of Malawian children will learn: 

• the importance of water in their daily lives.
• how to use clean water to stay healthy.
• techniques for preventing illness such as hand-washing and covering water sources to prevent malaria.

“Project WET made a commitment to develop education materials on water, sanitation, hygiene, and health (WASH) at a UNICEF-sponsored meeting in Oxford, England in 2006.  The Malawi Ministry of Education and UNICEF Malawi have enabled Project WET to further this commitment and expand its goal of educating people and saving lives in Africa,” said Dennis Nelson, Project WET President and CEO.

About Project WET

Since 1984, Project WET, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  Project WET achieves its mission of worldwide water education by:

• publishing water resource materials in several languages.
  
• providing training workshops on diverse water topics (i.e., watersheds, water quality, water conservation).
  
• organizing community water events, such as Make a Splash with Project WET water festivals and the Global Water Education Village™.
  
• building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.

On the web at www.projectwet.org.

Media Contact:  Stephanie Kaleva

Bozeman, Mont, 30 Jan., 2009 – On March 16, Project WET will join more than 20,000 participants for a week-long dialogue on Bridging Divides for Water at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. And, for the first time, the forum has made education a theme, joining five other priority topics.

As a result of its contributions to past World Water Forums, coupled with its global work and influence, Project WET was chosen to lead the forum’s education activities.

Held every three years, the World Water Forum is the world’s preeminent water event. Organized by the World Water Council, in collaboration with the host country, the forum aims to: 

• keep water at the top of the international agenda. 
• facilitate collaboration on water problems. 

The forum brings together the water community, as well as policy- and decision-makers to: 

• create links. 
• debate and attempt to share solutions and best practices. 
• achieve water security. 

“With a mission of reaching the world with water education, Project WET’s work in 42 countries on five continents has prepared it for this tremendous opportunity,” said Project WET President and CEO Dennis Nelson.

Project WET will convene several activities at the forum, including the Global Water Education Village™, which debuted at the 4th World Water Forum. The village’s purpose is to:

• highlight water education’s role and impact in communities around the world. 
• connect local solutions with the resolution of global water challenges. 

More than 35 organizations will participate in the village.

In addition, Project WET’s Water School will hold classes alongside the village. Here, Turkish teachers and students will participate in popular Project WET activities while providing participants an opportunity to witness education’s effectiveness in addressing water issues and empowering individuals to play a role in solving these issues.

Last, Project WET will convene the only special session that directly addresses education for school and children: “Building Bridges to the Future through Education about Water.”

A moderated panel will answer the question, “How can children and teachers be empowered to make a difference in their local water situations through their actions?”

Over 19,000 participated in the Global Water Education Village in 2006, and Project WET anticipates more than 25,000 will participate in 2009.

The Global Water Education Village and other related children’s activities are sponsored by Nestlé Waters and the Foundation of River, Environment and Watershed Management (FOREM), as well as Project WET Japan.

www.worldwaterforum5.org.

About Project WET

Since 1984, Project WET, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  Project WET achieves its mission of worldwide water education by:

• publishing water resource materials in several languages.
  
• providing training workshops on diverse water topics (i.e., watersheds, water quality, water conservation).
  
• organizing community water events, such as Make a Splash with Project WET water festivals and the Global Water Education Village™.
  
• building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.

On the web at www.projectwet.org.