WEF Staff Share the Value of Water Message with Local Students

WEF staff member Jessica Rozek talks to local middle-school students about the water quality indicators measured with World Water Monitoring Challenge kits. WEF photo/Alexandra Bradley.

Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) staff member Jessica Rozek talks to local middle-school students about the water quality indicators measured with World Water Monitoring Challenge kits. WEF photo/Alexandra Bradley.

Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) staff members took time to spread the message of the value of water and to educate about wastewater treatment. On June 10, WEF welcomed 75 middle-school students from Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy (Alexandria, Va.) to its headquarters as part of the service project “Operation H2O,” organized by the staff volunteer group, WEF Eco.

During the visit, students spent an hour at four different educational areas to learn about green infrastructure, water monitoring, and wastewater treatment. At a rain garden station, students learned about problems caused by stormwater runoff and how rain gardens offer one solution by absorbing stormwater and filtering out pollutants. On WEF’s green terrace, students learned about green roofs and how they capture rain to prevent runoff, insulate buildings, reduce city temperatures, and provide urban habitat for wildlife. At a monitoring station, students used WEF’s World Water Monitoring Challenge kits to test water samples collected from three different waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for acidity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and temperature. To wrap up the experience, students met Niles the Crocodile, the WEFCOM mascot, and learned about wastewater, how it is treated, and ways to protect water resource recovery facilities by not putting fats, oils, and grease or non-dispersibles down toilets or drains.

During WEF’s annual service project, “Operation H2O,” students learned about plants on WEF’s green terrace. WEF photo/Bradley. Students learned about rain gardens and how they help manage stormwater during WEF’s annual service project, Operation H2O. WEF photo/Bradley.
In June, the staff volunteer group, WEF Eco, educated local elementary school students about the value of water during the annual service project “Operation H2O.” Students learned about plants on WEF’s green terrace (left), how rain gardens help manage stormwater (right), how to monitor water, and about wastewater treatment. WEF photos/Bradley.

This year, a total of 16 WEF staff helped host the fifth annual service project. Since WEF launched its Low Carb(on) Diet initiative in mid-2007, it has installed a green roof and terrace, installed energy-saving equipment at its headquarters, promoted public transportation use, increased recycling and use of recycled or reusable materials, disseminated green-lifestyle information to staff, and hosted five annual service projects to get WEF out into the community.

WEF staff member Christine Radke educates students about wastewater treatment and how to protect water resource recovery facility infrastructure. WEF photo/Bradley.

WEF staff member Christine Radke educates students about wastewater treatment and how to protect water resource recovery facility infrastructure. WEF photo/Bradley.

For more information about WEF’s efforts to represent the value of water message, read the following WEF Highlights articles:

Jennifer Fulcher, WEF Highlights

WEF 2014 Service Project

On June 10, 2014, 14 Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) staff helped host this fifth annual service project. See galleries featuring WEF’s previous service projects:

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