Our children are the next custodians of our land, and as such, it’s our responsibility to educate them on the importance of water management and preservation.
Thankfully, there are numerous fun ways to instil this appreciation, where activities and knowledge replace fearmongering and scolding!
Here are some ways to educate kids on water management.
A simple but effective one: Aquariums are not just enchanting and calming, but they show firsthand the importance of water in the greater world.
Indeed, most aquariums have educational programmes to teach kids the importance of this precious resource.
If you can’t make it to an aquarium in person, there are several that offer at-home education resources (possibly most famously, Ripley’s Aquarium at Home, based in Canada). These resources range from activity kits to live Q&As with experts.
A dripping tap can waste 34 gallons per year (according to the US Government’s ‘drip calculator), so every wasted drip counts. Have your kids investigate any leaks around the house. And, for further investigation, they could place a container under the dripping tap and time it for a minute, working out how much water wastage was saved by their intrepid detective work.
Your kids may not know how important water is to the human body, so our blog on what happens to the body when you drink more water can give you some pointers.
Talk to your child about how water is used, and which water can be re-used. Water from a fish tank can be used in the garden or in houseplants; hot water used to steam vegetables can rinse dishes; and so on.
Try to track water use and re-use over a set period of time (say, 24 hours) and encourage your child to come up with ideas of their own.
Also, they might benefit from a refresher on hygiene, which we discuss in our blog, the most effective way to wash hands.
‘Water harvesting’ means making the most of rainwater by gathering it during rainfall for later use. As an agricultural resource, it’s been in practice for thousands of years.
This can be done with items like water butts, which harvest rainwater from your roof, for use later on drier days. You can involve your child in this, asking them what they’d like to use this water for, or encouraging using water from this resource on dry days.
Or, for less formally, children can create their own water garden, by leaving bowls or jars outside or at the bottom of drainpipes.
As described by groundwater.org, a raingarden consists of native plants in a small depression, usually (but not always) formed on a natural slope.
A raingarden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which is generally formed on a natural slope. In a raingarden, soil is removed (anything from 6 to 12 inches worth) and replaced with substances like sand, compost or tillage to increase water infiltration.
A raingarden improves water quality by filtering pollutants, absorbs more floodwater than a traditional garden, and, as a home for wildflowers, is aesthetically pleasing.
Talk to your child about raingardens, whether it’s in your child’s school, your own garden, or that of a relative.
This one is rustic: Plan a camping trip (or even a day trip) beside a body of water (ideally freshwater, so a river or lake). Bring a bucket, and use water from the river for chores or activities; cooking lunch, for instance, or washing hands, brushing teeth and cleaning one’s face in the morning.
If you want to go into detail, you can log how much water is used (by counting how often the bucket gets refilled).
The principle of this activity is to show that water doesn’t always come from a tap, and to help the child visualise how much water is casually used in everyday activities.
Whether we’re adults or children, we often don’t think of where our water comes from. But it can be an interesting investigation to carry out as a family. If you live in London, for instance, it likely comes from the river Thames or the Lee. Further south and to the east, our friends in Dubai often drink treated seawater with the use of desalination plants.
Water treatment plants often hold tours to the public. And there’s usually a wealth of informational resources about where your water comes from, wherever that is.
You can also share information on the importance of water overall, as discussed in our blogs Why Clean Water Matters.
Our children will inherit our planet. So, sharing knowledge on the beauty, value and importance of water is a duty for every parent and guardian.
We have more information on a range of water-related topics in our comprehensive Water Hub.
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