Photo:submitted
The following was provided by Lower Trent Conservation.
This year, at the 9th annual Tri-County Children’s Water Festival spearheaded by Lower Trent Conservation, close to 1,000 Grade 3-5 students will learn about our most precious natural resource – water. The festival runs May 24 and 25 at the Batawa Community Centre, in Batawa.
With less than one percent of all water found on the planet easily accessible and suitable for human use, everyone needs to be aware of how to use it wisely and keep it clean. The Tri-County Children’s Water Festival provides youth with the opportunity to discover the importance and diversity of water through hands-on activity stations. The students will rotate through a series of experiential activity centres that focus on water conservation, technology and science.
“We are extremely pleased to facilitate this fun-filled, hands-on environmental education opportunity for local youth”, says Glenda Rodgers, CAO, Lower Trent Conservation. “Teaching students about what they can do in their personal lives to protect our local water resources is fundamental in promoting healthy watersheds for healthy communities.”
Activity centres will be provided by: The City of Quinte West OPP, Public Works and Fire Department (Station 5), Ministry of the Environment & Climate Change, Kokum Makwa Cultural Enterprises, Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters, and Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre.
Participating schools come from across the region including Grafton, Colborne, Brighton, Warkworth, Frankford, Stirling, Batawa, Trenton, Bayside, Marmora, Madoc, Belleville, Tyendinaga, and Prince Edward County.
Key sponsors include: RBC Foundation, Drossbach NA Inc., Enbridge, Mystical Distributing Company, Cascades Containerboard Packaging – Trenton Mill, Huff Estates Winery, Quinte First Credit Union, CBM Aggregates, CRH Canada Group, Ontario Power Generation, the local Rotary Clubs of Trenton, Brighton & Stirling, the Brighton Legion – Branch 100, and private donations.
Volunteers are also a huge part of the event. There are approximately 100 adult volunteers along with 23 students from Trenton High School’s Outer Limits class who assist with setup and provide instruction at the teaching centres.
The Tri-County Children’s Water Festival is organized by a committee of six local organizations including Lower Trent Conservation, Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan, Batawa Ski Hill, Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, Quinte Conservation, Batawa Development Corporation, and community volunteers Eldon Burchart and Barb Toffelmire.
