Sixth-grade Project SWELL students recently presented their final projects calling for water conservation measures in San Diego at an annual county-wide science innovation showcase.
Environmental Education Focuses on Water Conservation
Over the 2021-2022 school year, Education Manager Delanie Medina led Marston Middle Schoolers to explore local and global water and climate science topics and research. Students learned concepts related to San Diego’s water supply and pollution, including climate change, urban runoff, California’s drought history, and local and regional solutions like wastewater recycling and reuse, stormwater infrastructure, and desalination.
Hands-On Water and Climate Science Curriculum in San Diego
Students developed projects for the annual science innovation showcase based on their learning and research during the environmental education program. Projects focused on creating a public service announcement-style video and developing an accompanying website centered around water conservation in San Diego. Project teams conducted research, interviewed local science professionals, learned technical skills, and developed communication tactics to create their digital education projects.
Throughout the year, Delanie led regular hands-on water and climate science lessons, including an activity where students learned how to assess global water distribution, scarcity, and equity.
Examples of Water and Climate Science Research
Local scientist Alex Hangsterfer of Scripps Institution of Oceanography was invited to speak to the middle school students about her water conservation research. As the geological collections manager, Alex described her work of collecting, observing, and analyzing core sediments from the ocean floor to assess and catalog how climate and water changed throughout the Earth’s history. She presented her scientific research and contributions to understanding how water and climate change are connected. Finally, Alex encouraged students to view today’s drought and water conservation issues through the lens of Earth’s geological history with climate change.
Student Projects on Conserving Water in San Diego
At the end of the year, students presented their final projects to Coastkeeper education staff for assessment. The top projects were selected to compete at a county-wide science innovation showcase for San Diego middle school students.
Below are the top water conservation student projects.
Best Overall: Our Most Dangerous Enemy
OUR MOST DANGEROUS ENEMY WEBSITE
Investing in the Future of Our Planet
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET WEBSITE
