About 1,800 area elementary students and over 350 volunteers were at the CM Wilson Conservation Area south of Chatham last week for the annual Chatham-Kent Children’s Water Festival.
Although one day was canceled due to weather, festival co-ordinator Don Hector said about 600 elementary school students came through and about 100 high school students were on hand to help the the other days of the festival.
The festival, designed with Grade 4 and Grade 5 students in mind, provides 42 hands-on fun facts and activities about water conservation, protection, and many related issues, according to Hector. The lessons are from both a rural and urban water perspective.
One booth, called What’s Up Doc?, taught students the symptoms of different types of diseases a person can get from drinking dirty water. Another large demonstration by the Chatham-Kent PUC showed each step sewage goes through to clean it before it goes back into the river, with the kids acting as the dirty water.
The festival has been held annually since 2007, with close to 12,000 elementary students taking part.
