Tag Archives: NHDES

The New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival is now live!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 23, 2021
CONTACT: Lara Hooper, (603) 271-4071
des.nh.gov
twitter.com/NHDES

Join us for the 2021 Virtual Drinking Water Festival!

Concord, NH – Over the past three decades, thousands of students have learned about protecting water at the New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival. This year the Festival is virtual and kicks off today! The 2021 Virtual Festival also includes the third annual Poetry Contest for third, fourth and fifth graders, making this a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, Math) educational opportunity.

The 2021 Virtual Festival is packed with over 40 videos and activities that connect with student’s daily lives and explore how to keep water clean. Major themes include the water cycle, watersheds, groundwater, wildlife, the human water cycle, Water Heroes (career fields) and the Poetry Contest. Engaging lessons range from calculating a personal water footprint to finding costly silent toilet leaks and learning how caddisflies stabilize streambeds against erosion. The online lessons and activities are designed for students in third through fifth grades, but with the timeless importance of clean water, students in other grades (and adults) can benefit from them as well. All materials are free and openly available. Students participating in the Poetry Contest should submit entries by April 30, 2021.

The Virtual Water Festival and Poetry Contest is now available at our new website www.nhwaterfestival.org. There, you will find the virtual lessons and also information about how your school can participate in the free in-person annual festival in May 2022.

As a member of the New Hampshire Drinking Water Coalition, RCAP Solutions is a proud partner of this event.

Photos courtesy of NHDES

The New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival Will Be Virtual in 2021

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The New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival will be offered virtually in 2021!

The New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival has educated and inspired fourth-graders to conserve and protect our water resources for 27 years. To keep everyone safe, the 2021 festival is moving online. As an added benefit, to support teachers, students and parents, these free online resources will be available from March through July.

Major themes include the water cycle, watersheds, groundwater, wildlife and the human water cycle. Lessons connect with student’s daily lives and explore how they can keep water clean. The online lessons and activities are designed for students in grades 3-5, but with the timeless importance of clean water, students in other grades will also benefit from them. Student in grades 3-5 are invited to participate in this year’s Water Poetry Contest. This is a great opportunity to incorporate the language arts and water science.

As a member of the New Hampshire Drinking Water Coalition, RCAP Solutions is a proud partner of this event.

The Drinking Water Festival’s new website is currently under construction, but it can be found and bookmarked for the virtual event this spring at nhwaterfestival.org. If you would like to learn more, please contact Lara Hooper at lara.hooper@des.nh.gov.

Photos courtesy of NHDES

The New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival  is sponsored by the New Hampshire Drinking Water Coalition in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to encourage future leaders and scientists to learn about one of the world’s most precious resources: water! 

RCAP Solutions Plans and Participates in the 27th Annual New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival

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RCAP Solutions also sponsored the event, which was attended by over 400 fourth-graders.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau recently held their 27th Annual Fourth Grade Drinking Water Festival at the Manchester Water Treatment Plant. The event, which took place during National Drinking Water Week, aimed to heighten the awareness of water resources and help students recognize water’s relationship to other resources.

Photo courtesy of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services

The festival was sponsored by the New Hampshire Drinking Water Coalition in conjunction with the NHDES, as well as other organizations, including RCAP Solutions. New Hampshire State Lead, Erick Toledo, was a member of the planning committee. More than 400 students from 11 different schools participated. Operators, scientists, consultants, artists, and environmental educators from public water systems, non-profit organizations, and other agencies joined together to share their expertise.

In addition to education displays and exhibits, the event also featured age-appropriate activities such as a water poetry competition, live music, and storytelling – all related to water quality, conservation, erosion, the effects of pollution, and more.

RCAP Solutions and other environmental health professionals were not the only ones exhibiting; the NH state-level Water Science Fair gave students the opportunity conduct research, create an exhibit, write a report, and present their findings to a panel of judges at the festival.

When asked about why it is important to engage the youth about these topics, Toledo said, “They are the future leaders, educators, researchers, scientists, and maybe even operators.” He continued, “They have the energy, the curiosity, the ability to do great things, to develop projects and articulate ideas. Their brains are like sponges of knowledge.”

Photo courtesy of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services