THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 8, 1994 TAG: 9407060133
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04B EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
How much water does your lawn need a week? What is the source of Virginia Beach's water supply? How long has the city had outdoor water restrictions? *
If you can answer these questions correctly, you know as much as the average third-grader in Virginia Beach. These questions are quite elementary for one group of students; they can fill a book with what they know about our city's water problems.
More than 200 children in 14 third-grade classes at the Old Donation Center for the Gifted and Talented spent the last semester of this past school year working on a water conservation booklet that they are distributing to schools, the water department and city council members.
``We were working on a section called `community problem-solving' and, at the time, there was a drought; all the reservoirs were low,'' said teacher Martha Tompkins. ``We wanted to do a project they thought they could do something about, a way for children to reach other children.''
The children set out on a fact-finding mission, writing to communities throughout the United States to ask about their water problems. They read countless newspaper and magazine articles about water conservation and Virginia Beach's specific shortage. And they tested water samples.
But one of the most eye-opening studies the youngsters did involved a survey of how fellow students and their families were conserving water in their own homes.
``We found out a lot of people weren't doing anything to conserve water,'' said Ryan Brake. ``Now I keep telling my mom not to run the water while she's brushing her teeth.''
The children, working in groups, brainstormed ideas for their 19-page spiral-bound booklet and came up with math problems, hidden word games, quizzes, puzzles and poems - all designed to teach other children about water conservation. But they decided adults could use a little education on the subject, too.
Last week, Tompkins and four of the students who worked on the project presented a copy of the ``Kids Save Water Activity Book'' to Mayor Meyera Oberndorf at a special ceremony in city council chambers. They also gave her enough copies of the booklet for all members of city council and the school board.
``Virginia Beach is one of the most conservation minded communities in the United States, but we can always use a reminder about how to save water,'' the mayor said in her remarks recognizing the students' efforts. ``Very often, adults learn from children. You all will be role models for teaching adults.''
The students not only received local recognition for their project, but they also were given two, $1,000 grants (the 1993 President's Environmental Youth Award) from the Environmental Protection Agency, plus a $500 McDonald's Friend of the Planet Award, given to students who work to promote environmental understanding.
The $500 prize was donated to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, in honor of the children. The remaining grant money has been used, and will be used in the future, to print copies of the booklet, which is being distributed widely in the city's elementary schools and administrative offices.
Teachers, six children and their parents attended the EPA award ceremony in Washington, D.C., in January. There they saw conservation projects presented by other schools, scouts and youth organizations from across the country.
``They were one of 10 groups in the country to receive grants,'' Tompkins said. ``They were the youngest group and, when we saw what others did, we realized the children had done something pretty monumental.''
In addition to Tompkins, the other third-grade teachers at the Old Donation Center who guided the students through their water conservation project were Grace Garriott and Tish Matter. MEMO: * Answers to questions: Your lawn needs only two centimeters of water
per week. Virginia Beach has no usable water source; the city currently
buys all its water from Norfolk. We have had outdoor water restrictions
since February 1992.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CARL CASON
Keith Strausbaugh, left, Brittany McGill, teacher Martha Tompkins,
Lindsay Abrams and Ryan Brake worked on the water project.
by CNB