The Importance of Instilling Water Conservation Practices in Youth

Hi. My name is Josh Weston, and my research project will aim at educating youth about water conservation practices in the community of Flagstaff.

To improve overall education about water issues in Flagstaff, I feel the best place to start is with our youth. I would like to inform our youth about the importance of water conservation and smart policies by developing (or adding onto) a classroom presentation. To maximize the effectiveness of instructional time with young people, I will develop a questionnaire. I will survey the knowledge of a group of students who go through the presentation and a group who does not go through the presentation. Using the information in the questionnaire I will try to determine what students do not know about water consumption and conservation. I will search through pre-existing curriculum with help from my external advisors at Willow Bend and resources such as Project WET. I hope to visit several schools in Northern Arizona to inform students about water consumption and conservation.

I will work with the Willow Bend Environmental Center in Flagstaff for help with the educational presentation in terms of: (1) what topics the presentations should focus on; (2) how to actually deliver a lesson; (3) and who I should present to. I also want to look at existing educational materials to see what aspects of water they are conveying. Using this information as a basis, I hope to develop a more effective, and stimulating presentation for students.

Using these methods, I hope to explore the following questions. Is water education a necessary tool to convince residents to consume less water? How can we inspire youth to take action to conserve water? What is the best way to spread good water conservation habits to the community?

For my final product, I will develop my own classroom presentation as a final product, focusing on water conservation for elementary students.