Mark your calendar and make plans to celebrate the kick of the 2020 EarthEcho Water Challenge in your community this World Water Day, March 22! Each year, World Water Day provides an opportunity to highlight the critical role water plays in sustaining life on earth, and the importance of everyone taking an active role in protecting their local water resources. The EarthEcho Water Challenge empowers young leaders around the world to test the quality of their local water, share their data through an international database, and use their findings to inform actions to protect water health in their communities. To date, the program has activated over 1.6 million participants in 146 countries, creating a network of citizen advocates for water health.

On March 17, the EarthEcho team will head to Malibu, CA to launch the 2020 EarthEcho Water Challenge at a special water monitoring event with students from Los Angeles and our partners at the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains.

You can join in the action in your own community, by hosting a water quality monitoring event on or around March 22. You can get started with three easy steps:

Be sure to join the conversation on social media by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and by sharing stories of your water monitoring efforts using hashtag #MonitorWater.

We look forward to celebrating our water planet with you!

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**EDIT (3/12/2020): We were excited to head to Malibu, CA to partner with the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains to host students at the Malibu Lagoon State Beach but that out of state travel to such an event could risk the health and safety of staff, volunteers, and students and thus have postponed the event indefinitely as we monitor the precautions advised by the WHO and CDC.

In lieu of an in-person event in Malibu, EarthEcho will feature and promote the ongoing water monitoring and education events in those communities where the COVID-19 infection risk is lower. A multitude of partners will utilize the week after March 22nd to bring attention to the need for clean, healthy water resources and the opportunities for citizens across the world to engage with their local waterways. **

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