World Water Monitoring Day on September 18 united young water scientists and stewards around the world, including our 2021 EarthEcho Water Challenge Ambassadors, who led an impactful series of educational events to engage their peers and community members in the EarthEcho Water Challenge. Ambassadors worked together across the country to host over 25 events reaching nearly 1,000 youth and community members

Emilia Fiebel and Joey Goldstein collaborated to bring a World Water Monitoring Day celebration to Hollywood Beach, FL in partnership with Saving Ocean Life. Through an impactful over 40 youth and community members united for a water monitoring demonstration and coastal cleanup event, allowing participants to learn about the meaning of water monitoring and the steps taken to test water.

Valeria Mejia teamed up with members of her school's Green Club to host a beach cleanup and water testing event at Virginia Key in South Florida to celebrate both World Water Monitor Day and International Cleanup Day. Around 30 people participated in water testing, checking Virginia Key's local water (that is often prone to issues like fish kills). Valeria and the Green Club hope to continue pushing water testing and beach cleanup events for the remainder of the school year.

Through his outreach event, Tarin Fung connected with local residents in New York to engage them in writing letters to the new governor advocating for climate policy.

Reid Chapman hosted his event at a local elementary school, presenting about the Chesapeake Bay and water quality monitoring. Working with Reid, the students had the opportunity to test the water quality of a sample collected from the Chesapeake Bay and discuss the results.

Abrielle Brown united a group of local youth in her Pennsylvania community and led a water quality monitoring demonstration, while also highlighting the OceanEcho 30x30 campaign and efforts to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.

Ivanya Johnson’s World Water Monitoring Day event kicked off engaging a group of her fellow college students in a discussion of the global water crisis, followed by a screening of the film Brave Blue World. Ivanya engaged participants in a game and group conversation around the water challenges facing their community in Hawai'i and an overview of the water monitoring process.

To celebrate World Water Monitoring Day, Kyra Stillwagon visited her school’s 3rd and 4th grade classes to lead a presentation and demonstration on the importance of water quality monitoring in their local community. After engaging students in testing a local sample of water, Kyra and her school’s environmental club highlighted the work they’re leading to make their campus more sustainable. The event provided opportunities to engage new students and teachers in a collaborative education event!

Emma Kavanaugh brought the World Water Monitoring Day celebration back to her former high school, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, through a virtual water quality presentation and monitoring activity, as well as an interactive Kahoot! Game! Emma led a discussion on threats to local water quality and encouraged club members to get involved in water monitoring!

For her World Water Monitoring Day event, Emma Bolton engaged students in all grades at Brooksville Elementary School, as well as a local homeschool group, leading water quality monitoring demonstrations for students and hands-on activities to teach participants about pollution and runoff. Students also had the chance to take part in an art project creating sea animal sculptures out of trash. This art installation is now being displayed in a gallery at Brooksville City Hall to connect the community to the importance of ocean and waterway conservation.

Pia Visaria celebrated World Water Monitoring Day at the Mercer County Park in Mercer County New Jersey with a local Girl Scout troop. With guidance from Pia, participants had the opportunity to take part in the EarthEcho Water Challenge, testing water quality samples and discussing the importance of each water quality parameter. Participants also engaged in a conversation about the importance of sustainable actions, waterway conservation, and the goal of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030.

Angela Mao brought the World Water Monitoring Day message to a digital audience, hosting an informative Instagram live take over on the @EarthEcho channel. Through this event, she introduced and demonstrated water quality monitoring procedures, and discussed ways to address water quality challenges in local communities.

In San Juan Puerto Rico, Valentina Flores, Andrea Ávila, and Gianna Tomassini teamed up to present the EarthEcho Water Challenge to 5 classes of 7th grade students, allowing participants to learn more about water quality parameters, test the quality of a local water sample, and learn more through an interactive Kahoot! Game. Participants also had the opportunity to learn more about the OceanEcho 30x30 campaign.

Members of Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden, Caroline Crowley for a special celebration of World Water Monitoring Day. Students used EarthEcho Water Challenge test kits to measure pH, dissolved oxygen, and other water qualities to hypothesize whether their assigned sample was from the Malden River, the Mystic River, local tap, or purified water. They also learned about environmental issues surrounding water quality and efforts such as the OceanEcho 30x30 campaign and the goal of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030.

‍Jack Kincus hosted his World Water Monitoring Day event as a presentation and water monitoring program for a local high school’s marine research club. Through his presentation, he highlighted the EarthEcho Water Challenge, and opportunities for young conservation leaders to plug into EarthEcho’s work. Students had the opportunity to test several water samples and make predictions about the source of each sample based on their test results.

Annabel Fiero, Lena Huang, and Mykaela Barnes teamed up to bring the EarthEcho Water Challenge to a local park in San Francisco, CA, engaging community members in a three stations set up for water testing, analysis, and action. Participants had the opportunity to test a water sample, record their results, and learn more about 30x30 while taking a pledge to protect the ocean.

In honor of World Water Monitoring Day, Selden Pickens connected via Zoom with the 5th graders of Port Towns Elementary School to lead a presentation about water quality monitoring and the importance of taking action to protect local waterways. Through this session, participants virtually joined Selden as he walked through his typical water monitoring process, and provided opportunities for a Q&A discussion with the students.

Emma Dencker joined the EarthEcho International team for the 2021 EarthEcho Water Challenge World Water Monitoring Day event, working with 180 local students at Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs to highlight the importance of water quality and guide them through a monitoring activity at a local stream.

For her World Water Monitoring Day event, Elise Taylor worked with three Girl Scout troops in the 4th grade to monitor a local lake. She spoke with the girls about the importance of monitoring water and asked them why water was important to them. Together they discussed the importance of temperature, turbidity, pH, specific dissolved oxygen content, and reflected on what they learned.

‍Lorelei Mohammadbhoy helped connect local students to the importance of water quality monitoring and watershed conservation in Crystal River, FL. Through her event, she shared her water quality monitoring work, challenges facing the water quality of the local springs in her community, and introduced organizations working to restore and protect the local watershed.

Iris van der Veen hosted her World Water Monitoring Day event on the shores of Tampa Bay on the campus of the University of South Florida Saint Petersburg, engaging a group of students in learning more about the importance of water quality monitoring and taking an active role in testing the local water quality. Iris also engaged participants in learning more about OceanEcho 30x30 and progress made to date on this global campaign.

Reece Whatmore and Harper Campbell teamed up to celebrate World Water Monitoring Day by teaching a third grade class about ocean health, conservation, and the 30x30 movement. Students learned about the key elements of water monitoring and water quality science, and the critical role young people can play in being water conservation activists! Students also learned how to get involved in the OceanEcho 30x30 campaign, and had a great time interacting with the water monitoring test kits!

Teaming up with her friends, Amanda Hogan led a group of local middle and high school students through an interactive water monitoring program at Buffalo Bayou Visitor Center. Participants had the chance to learn more about the importance of ocean and waterway conservation and share their perspectives on water quality monitoring. Each participant had a chance to test samples from the Bayou and share their data through the EarthEcho Water Challenge database.

Mariana l. Fernandez marked World Water Monitoring Day by leading a water monitoring session at the Huron River in Michigan, and explaining the key water quality parameters to a first time participant who joined her for this work!

Andrea Tartaglia and James McGehee worked together to engage students at Carleton College in the EarthEcho Water Challenge. Through an interactive station at the Campus Center, they engaged passing students in learning more about water quality monitoring, allowing participants to share their perspectives on the importance of waterway conservation through an interactive poster. The station also allowed them to promote a river cleanup organized by Minnesota River Partners, which both Andrea and James participated in on World Water Monitoring Day!

‍Korbyn Cannon hosted her World Water Monitoring Day event with a group of youth in her local community. Through this engaging session, she shared background on the EarthEcho Water Challenge and walked participants through the water monitoring process. Together they tested local water samples and shared their data through the Water Challenge database!

Be sure to check out EarthEcho’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages for more highlights from these events!

Want to join in on the action? It’s not too late! Host your own water quality monitoring event in your school, community, workplace, or with your family!  Visit www.monitorwater.org to learn more about water quality monitoring, share your water quality data through our global database, and make a plan to protect your local water resources!