LIHU‘E — Nearly 600 people got a hands-on educational experience learning about water Thursday during the Project Water Education for Teachers Make A Splash at the Pua Loke Arboretum.
Spearheaded by the Department of Water with help from numerous community and governmental agencies, the day-long event is limited to fifth grade students in Kaua‘i’s public, private and home schools.
Utilizing user friendly interactive and team-building activities, students, teachers and even adults get lessons in a wide range of aspects dealing with water, said Joy Buccat of the DOW.
“We have 10 stations where students can learn about ground water, source protection, the makeup of water, demand for water from a limited source and even healthy water habits,” Buccat said. “This is our ninth annual event and we get a lot of help from people to make it successful.”
Daryl Kaneshiro, a DOW board member, was experiencing his first Make A Splash event, stopping at each station to get a closer look at how the event becomes a learning aid.
“Even I got to learn something,” Kaneshiro said, while chatting with Beth Tokioka of the Mayor’s Office.
Since 1984, the Project WET Foundation has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members throughout the globe with water education, states its website.
It accomplishes its mission of worldwide water education by publishing water resource materials in several languages, providing training workshops on diverse water topics including watersheds, water quality, water conservation and more, organizing community water events such as the Make A Splash event, Project WET water festivals and Global Water Education Village and building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.
The quality and quantity of water resources affect the health and well-being of almost seven billion people on the planet, and yet, one in eight people do not have access to clean and abundant water and global water problems continue to escalate on almost a daily basis, the website states.
As schools, homes and businesses “go green,” water education has a major role to play, helping individuals identify their watershed address, discover their role in the hydrological cycle and recognize that water knows no boundaries — flowing through and connecting us all.
Visit www.projectwet.org for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
