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Students' water wonders answered

• Students participating in an environmental festival learn that water doesn't actually originate in the spigot.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

DAWSON — Through an enviroscape model, Southwest Georgia fifth-graders saw first- hand how run-off water from every-day activities finds its way to storm water reservoirs and waterways.

They learned how peanuts absorb water and nutrients, and of pollutants’ broad impact.

“Not only do pollutants harm the water and the environment, they also harm animals and people,” said Jake Odom of Southwest Georgia Academy in Damascus.

Odom and was one of 1,013 Southwest Georgia fifth- graders who learned about the basics of water, as well as its intricacies, during three-day Water Festival 2007, an education program organized by the nonprofit Keep Albany- Dougherty Beautiful.

Judy Bowles, the agency’ executive director, said that water is “the environmental issue right now. ... In Georgia, we are in the ‘water wars’ with Florida and Alabama”

The event, on its fifth year, reaches out to the youth, who, Bowles said, “need to be our environmental stewards.

“We need our young people (to know that) all the water we have today is all the water we’ll ever have,” she said, “and that the water they drink today is the same water the dinosaurs drank.”

The program has grown from a localized, two-day, 500- student event to one that provides an educational experience for pupils throughout region. Schools are assigned to attend the festival on one of its three days.

This year, experts made presentations on 10 topics, divided into tent-topped stations on the grounds of the Hooks Hanner Environmental Resource Center in Dawson. Experts included representatives from the state Department of Wildlife Resources’ Environmental Protection Division; the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission; the Parks at Chehaw; the Water, Gas & Light Commission; and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

To gauge what they know, students are given pre- and post-tests.

“We see about a 50-60 percent increase in their knowledge,” said Bowles.

Teresa Davis, is a teacher at Byne Memorial Baptist School in Albany, and her students were part of Thursday’s crowd.

“I’m learning about peanuts and different (types of) irrigation,” said Davis, who noted that in the classroom, she can incorporate some of the principles learned at the festival.

“It’s important that we understand how it (water) affects our economy, our bodies,” she said. “(Water) is life.”

Exposure to experts in the environmentally-related fields also opens up dialogue about career opportunities.

“We’ve got future farmers (here),” said Davis.

All students walk away with something — whether it be a reuseable water bottle or a broadened view of how things work.

“Don’t litter,” said Jake, the fifth-grader from Damascus. “And if you are farming, don’t use as much pesticides.”

The program is offered at no cost to schools and students. Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful raises about $14,000 to organize the festival.

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