The Sudbury Children's Water Festival

Water is the basis of life - without it, nothing grows! We exist because of the availability of water, and here in Ontario we enjoy an abundance of it. Nearly 17% of our province is covered with fresh water lakes and rivers. However even with our vast quantities, water pollution is a big issue for some communities and could lead to even more serious problems for future generations

In Sudbury, 800 grade 3 students had fun arning about water conservation and pollution prevention at the Sudbury Children's Water Festival. This two-day event, which was held on September 26-27, 2006, by a parrtnership of the Sudbury & District Health Unit, the City of Greater Sudbury, Anderson Farm Museum and the Nickel District Conservation Authority. The first annual vSudbury Children's Water Festival was held in 2005, as a joint project of the Sudbury District Health Unit, the Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition and the Nickel District Conservation Authority.

The Festival brought together educators, water specialists and representatives of industry and government to guide students in their discoveries about the importance of water and the diversity of its uses in historical and modern times. It was comprised of 30 activity centres where students were given a 10 minute presentation and then were able to participate in the centre-specific activity. With activity centre names such as Royal Flush (how does my toilet work?); Lather Up (how much water do I use in a 5 minute shower); Down the Sewer (where does storm water, and anything else I put into the sewer, go?) and Dripial Pursuit (a friendly game of not so "trivial" water facts), students were challenged to consider the importance of groundwater in relation to themselves as individuals, and to society at large.

One of the reasons the festival is unique is because it has been translated and adapted to make it available to francophone children in the region. Furthermore, the Sudbury Children's Water Festival has added an Aboriginal component to the event, which includes a water journey, as well as an Aboriginal learning centre.

A fundamental and essential teaching of the First Nations peoples is respect for the Earth and one of the important elements of the festival was to celebrate native spirituality. Beyond water science and technology, children learned about the sacredness of water and the respect it deserves at one of the activity centres which was located in a tepee.

Grade 3 students were selected to participate in the festival because it fits with the Ontario Grade 3 curriculum requirements. "A water festival is a creative way of teaching Grade 3 students different types of water categories - protection, science, technologies and attitudes," said 2005 Festival Coordinator Kevin Dupuis. But beyond meeting the curriculum, instilling strong values in today's youth is critical to water conservation. "We know how crucial that Grade 3 year is in forming the values of appreciation that will be with these students for the rest of their lives," said MPP Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development & Mines and a former teacher.

The Sudbury Children's Water Festival taught children first hand that it is everyone's responsibility to safeguard and protect the water and no one is free from that responsibility. By making children aware how essential water is to plant, animal and human life, the impact of the festival will be felt for years to come.

Some positive feedback received:

"Teachers, students and parents all enjoyed this great day, what an original learning experience! This was a great way of educating the students on the importance of natural resources. The aboriginal voices activity was a favourite with all my students"

"I was very impressed with the fact that each activity made the students aware of the need to conserve natural resources and energy and of how to protect our environment".

Water festivals are a great learning experience for all who participate. Hopefully, the Sudbury Children's Water Festival will continue its success and inspire other northern communities to offer the same type of festival to their youth.

Posted Feb 1, 2007