Worldwide Water Education
Educate. Empower. Act. The mission of Project WET is to reach children, parents, educators and communities of the world with water education. We invite you to join us in educating children about the most precious resource on the planet — water.
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Notes from the Classroom: Seeking Bozeman-Area Teachers
If you're a teacher in the greater Bozeman area interested in technology and learning, water education or both, we'd like to talk to you! On Saturday, January 8th, Project WET will be hosting a day-long Focus Group at the Bozeman Public Library to provide feedback, ideas and insights for development of Project WET's planned online portal. Teachers with experience in Internet-based learning solutions are especially encouraged to take part. In exchange for attendance, participants will receive lunch, a $50.00 stipend and a voucher to receive the revised Project WET Curriculum & Activity Guide due to be published in summer 2011. Space is limited, so if you're interested, please contact Theresa Schrum as soon as possible.
Picture This: “You Just Can’t Live Without Water”
One of the leading figures in water education took a moment this month to discuss the process that led to the United Nations declaration in July that access to water is a fundamental human right. Dr. András Szöllösi-Nagy, the rector of UNESCO-IHE (Institute for Water Education), spoke of the importance of the resolution and of the challenges that still face the water sector.
"You can live without oil for a week. You can live without the Internet for a week. You can live without many things for a week. But you just can't live without water for a week, and that's encapsulated in this major resolution which recognizes water and sanitation as part of basic human rights," Dr. Szöllösi-Nagy says at the end.
Project WET is a proud partner with UNESCO-IHP (International Hydrological Programme) on the Water and Education Programme for the Americas and the Caribbean.
New & Noteworthy: Call for Presentations
Planning for Sustaining the Blue Planet: Global Water Education Conference is in full swing. This week we are releasing the Call for Presentations, and we hope to have a lot of participation. Download the call here or read on to learn more.
The conference team is seeking educators, policymakers, businesses, municipalities, program designers, implementers, practitioners and all others interested in water education for presentations addressing one of the five conference strands:
* Innovations in Water Education
* Successful Approaches to WASH Education
* Technology & Water Education
* Encouraging Water Education in Corporate Sustainability
* Education Solutions for Priority Water Topics
The Call for Presentations includes additional information about each of the strands as well as the form you will need to submit your presentation. The deadline is March 31st, so download your copy today. We are looking forward to receiving many fascinating proposals. If you have any questions, please contact our conference team.
Howdy Partner! The Traveling School Brings Project WET to South Africa
Our international programs assistant, Morgan Perlson, received an exciting email from the staff of The Traveling School, a Bozeman-based Bozeman-based study abroad program for high school girls. Back in September, several of the girls participating in the Fall Semester program in Africa (as well as some staff) came to Project WET to learn how to teach some of our water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) materials during their academic term. In late November, their travels brought them to a Zulu village off the coast of the Indian Ocean. Here's what happened:
The day before Thanksgiving 14 students from The Traveling School sat together and worked on a plan on how to teach water sanitation to a local primary school outside of Kozsi Bay in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Two students who had attended a Project WET training worked with their fellow classmates on the best way to implement their knowledge. The 14 TTS students broke into 3 groups: one group taught the "Handwashing Song", one taught Healthy Habits Tag and the third group demonstrated with a skit how consuming unclean water can make a person sick. Upon arrival at the school the TTS students had not expected to have the entire Primary school's undivided attention. Quickly, the TTS students adapted their plan to divide the 75-85 students into 3 stations to teach all the material they had prepared. By the end of the lesson every student understood how water born diseases were transmitted, healthy habits to reduce the spread of disease and how to appropriately wash their hands, all the while, laughing, smiling and enjoying the interactive, experiential learning. TTS left the teachers with a few resources to help them facilitate future education with their students.
Along with the students, two Traveling School parents were visiting during the lessons, and they singled out the Project WET lessons as a particular high point:
"The highlight for us was joining the class when they delivered a series of lessons they'd prepared on water hygiene to a local Zulu school. Our daughters got to participate and I think we have two more potential students for future TTS expeditions."
Thanks to Traveling School Program Coordinator Jennifer Royall for sharing the students' experiences. We look forward to hearing more from this and future classes at The Traveling School.