Eighth graders on team Ignite participated in World Water Day (WWD). World Water Day is a day where people focus on the importance of water. This year’s theme is “Nature for Water,” where students explored nature-based solutions to challenges involving water.

On March 19, groups of students presented in the Ignite hallway, their presentations displayed throughout all of the classrooms. The Ignite teachers invited other teachers and staff members to bring their students down to peruse the students’ work.

Then on March 22, the Ignite team took a field trip to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, where a few groups were picked to present again.

For the WWD presentations, the students were required to pick a topic and make a detailed outline of their displays, demonstrations, or models,  and write a one-to-two page report. Their presentations, at least five minutes long, included handouts summarizing the topic for their peers, visual products, as well interactive components like a Kahoot, game, or model.

“I think that [World Water Day] is a good way to raise awareness on the effects or water,” stated Sam Jones, an eighth-grader who did the project. Jones and her group did a project on how animal protein impacts the environment.

Other project topics included the impact of straws on the environment, the effects of invasive species, the ways in which the meat industry impacts the environment, and the pollution of Lake Erie.

Mr. Stephens, the science teacher on team Ignite, was a supervisor of the project. He found out about WWD while the Ignite teachers were brainstorming ideas for a service project. According to Stephens, the discussion always circled back to the same topic, water.

Team Ignite had previously done a project to help raise money for an organization Drink Local Drink Tap (DLDT), raising around $2,600. Jen, a member of the Drink Local, Drink Tap (DLDT) organization, helped pick the groups that presented at the aquarium.

Jen also spoke to the students about her experiences; she went to Uganda for a month with some other members of DLDT to work on getting clean, safe drinking water for everyone there. The organization has also helped schools get clean water and sanitary restrooms. They also make boreholes–deep, narrow holes in the ground to locate water or oil–in places that need them.

The Ignite teachers thought the project was right for the students because it educated them about many issues regarding water. Mr. Stephen stated, “I’ve seen a number of students become more aware of water scarcity globally, and water conservation locally.”

One student, Betsy Waner, a seventh grader, who listened to some of the presentations said, “I thought [the projects were] really interesting. I never knew water could have such huge effects on the environment.” Julia Penkshov, another seventh grader, said, “I like the idea of the handouts. They had cool ways I could help without a lot of time or money.”

Mr. Stephens hopes to participate in World Water Day again. He thought of it as a great experience for students to learn more about the water they are drinking everyday.