LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Water Conservation/Public Education Programs

A wonderful service provided by the city of Durham Water Management Department to inform the community and K-12 students about the importance of conservation of our most important natural resource - water.

http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/wm/programs.cfm

Learn more

  • Lesson plan: Can we keep the lake clean? This lesson introduces students to the water cycle by having them help draw a picture of a lake ecosystem, adding human impacts that affect water quality.
  • Lesson plan: The drought causes conservation The students will use their knowledge of the importance of water to learn about the hydrosphere. The drought being experienced will be explored through graphs and a personal plan for water conservation.
  • Lesson plan: Observing the water cycle Initially, students will observe a demonstration of the water cycle and apply the information gained through the demonstration. Then students will measure and graph rainfall for two weeks.
  • Drinking Water for Kids Classroom activities, games, and experiments about drinking water and the water cycle.
  • EPA Ground Water and Drinking Water Information about drinking water and how it is kept safe for the public. This site also includes a kids' section for K-12 that includes games, activities, and classroom experiments.
  • EPA High School Environmental Center A resource page that provides a great deal of useful information for high school students studying or wishing to learn more about the environment and what they can do to help protect it. Major topics include air, waste and recycling, conservation, water, ecosystems, and health and safety.

Related pages

  • National Institute of Environmental Health: Tour the National institute of Environmental Health campus in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and learn about environmental health as well as career options for those who are interested in going into the field of biomedical research.
  • Haw River Festival Learning Celebration: Don't miss this fun and informative festival celebrating the Haw River, its history, and the creatures that live there.
  • Stevens Nature Center at Hemlock Bluffs: Provides information about the natural history of the Hemlocks Bluff Nature Preserve and the plants and animals that live there.

Related topics

Legal

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The team at the Department of Water Management "strongly promotes water conservation and has an active water conservation and public education program." This website offers both resources for classrooms and programs for a field trip opportunity to a waste water treatment plant. For those teachers who cannot take time away from the classroom, a presentation can be made at the school. Younger students will enjoy the "Water Magic" tricks performed by members of the conservation staff, while older students will benefit from a computer model to determine money, energy and water savings by simulating a retrofit of home plumbing fixtures.

The department offers over 30 different video tapes which may be checked out to the teacher for enhancing a unit on water conservation, the water cycle, water quality, xeriscaping, and more water topics. See the complete list of videos available in the lending library.

Online interactive lessons tell the "Story of Drinking Water" and "Go with the Flow" - waste water treatment. Teachers can also order activity books, posters, pamphlets, and book covers to aid in teaching their students.

For more information on the programs and materials available, contact James Lim at (919) 560-4381.

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