The 17th annual Halton Children’s Water Festival was a huge success!
More than 3,800 local elementary school students stopped by Kelso Conservation Area between Tuesday, September 24th and Friday, September 27th. The goal of the four-day event was to provide interactive outdoor activities that teach children about the function and value of local watersheds.
Co-hosted by Conservation Halton and Halton Region, this year’s festival featured 60 unique learning stations that encouraged students to practice creative problem-solving and team-building skills, such as ‘Migration Mania’, ‘Just Add Rain’, and ‘Regional Waterscapes’.
“There’s so many activities you can do and plus, you’re learning,” said Mikaela, a Grade 3 student at St. Gregory the Great Public School, Oakville. “The coolest thing I learned [was that] wetlands are like sponges!”
All stations provided curriculum links to classroom topics across four thematic areas: water and society, water conservation and protection, water health and safety, and water science and technology.
More than 500 students from 12 local high schools participated as activity leaders and Waste Ambassadors at the event.
“It’s good for kids to learn how their ancestors had to get water,” said Isabella, a Grade 11 student at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, Burlington. “Now, water comes out of the tap. Activity stations like [the Pioneer Water Race] teach kids to be grateful for water and to understand where it comes from.”
In addition to acting as positive role models for the younger learners, all participating high school students contributed over 3,000 volunteer hours to the festival.
Since 2022, the festival also runs a virtual module for complementary in-class learning. In total, 41 local schools took part in the festival’s in-person and in-class components.
The Halton Children’s Water Festival 2024 partners and supporters included Halton District School Board, Halton Catholic District School Board, Conservation Halton Foundation, City of Burlington, Town of Halton Hills, Town of Oakville, Wilfrid Laurier University, Wolseley, DSEL, GEO Morphix, Leggat Care Foundation, Ontario Wildlife Foundation, Associated Engineering and R.V. Anderson Associates.
For more information on the Halton Children’s Water Festival, click here.
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