In honor of World Water Monitoring Day on September 18, our EarthEcho Water Challenge Ambassadors are taking action in communities across the country to lead water monitoring education programs and watershed restoration efforts. With support from the EarthEcho team and Xylem Watermark, this group of young conservation leaders, coordinated by our Youth Leadership Council, will lead a series of events to help their peers and community members connect to their local waterways and understand the importance of taking action to address the global water crisis starting in their own backyards.
Here are some of their plans…
Emma Kavanaugh will partner with the Surfrider Foundation’s Broward chapter to lead a water monitoring and education program at a local beachfront park in Hollywood, FL, and engage participants in a coastal cleanup.
Ronnie Cunitz will work with elementary through high school age Science Olympiad participants to conduct a water monitoring lab in Oahu.
Nicolas Lama will work with volunteers at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park in North Palm Beach, FL to conduct a mangrove cleanup and water monitoring program.
Olivia Pickens and Elise Reeder will head to Port Towns Elementary in Bladensburg, MD to lead a water monitoring program for local 5th grade students.
Audrey Berlie will partner with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples, FL to engage local students in monitoring water quality at a river and marsh environment in their community.
Kyra Stillwagon will work with middle school students at St. Andrews School in Savannah, GA to lead a water quality education program before taking participants out in the field to test local water quality.
Chloe Wetzler will host an interactive program at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, VA, allowing guests to take part in the EarthEcho Water Challenge and hands on activities focused on protecting local watersheds.
Iris van der Veen will engage a local Girl Scout troop from Miami, FL in a park cleanup followed by an educational discussion focused on water quality and pollution, while engaging participants in the EarthEcho Water Challenge.
Katie Croom will engage students at St. Edwards School in Vero Beach, FL in hands on activities focused on water health, and give older students the opportunity to directly monitor their local water quality.
Sarah Emerson will engage local 2nd grade students and participants in a girl STEM camp in Lorena, TX in learning about climate change and water pollution, while engaging participants in hands on water quality monitoring activities.
Mykaela Barnes will work with multiple classes of students at two elementary schools in Berkley, CA to help them visualize the challenges of water pollution before taking part in the EarthEcho Water Challenge and monitoring local water quality.
Maria Torres, Domingo Cortinez, and Daelyn Einhorn will head to local classes at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Miami, FL to lead an educational program focused on climate change, water pollution, and solutions to environmental challenges facing south Florida.
Andrew Farias will guide Carleton College students through a local waterfront cleanup while educating them on the importance of taking action to protect their community’s waterways.
Amelia Fortgang will engage visitors at the San Francisco Zoo in hands on water quality monitoring and conservation activities to help guests understand their role in protecting local water resources.
Jack Kincus will lead local community members through a coastal cleanup and water monitoring program in his hometown of Vero Beach, FL
Jonathan Simak will engage local high school students in learning about the health of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the Chesapeake Bay water report card, before conducting their own water quality monitoring work in Maryland.
Brian Hyun will lead multiple water quality monitoring activities and coastal cleanups throughout the Long Island Sound region, ultimately sharing his findings with government officials and conservation partners in the region.
Greyson Graham and Braden McPhillips will team up with EarthEcho partner Love A Sea Turtle to engage over one hundred local students in a water quality monitoring program at the Water Science Lab they helped create at River Park North in Greenville, NC
You can follow along all next week on the EarthEcho Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as our Water Challenge Ambassadors carry out this important work, and join the conversation using hashtag #MonitorWater.
Want to join in on the action? Consider hosting your own water quality monitoring event in your school, community, workplace, or with your family! Visit www.monitorwater.org to order an EarthEcho Water Challenge test kit, collect and share your water quality data through our global database, and make a plan to protect your local water resources!
