While rain was still falling Thursday, March 30, several thousand students were learning about the importance of conservation for when it doesn’t.
More than 4,500 Orange County students participated in the Children’s Water Education Festival hosted by the Orange County Water District, which manages the region’s groundwater basin.
Horace Mann Elementary students Aariyona Tilley and Allyzon Sandoval, from left, participate in a game at the Children’s Water Education Festival at UC Irvine in Irvine, CA on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Students were demonstrating the difference between manual water transport and modern water transport through pipes. Students from more than 60 Orange County schools came together to learn about water issues and conservation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Students cheer on their classmates during a game at the Children’s Water Education Festival at UC Irvine in Irvine, CA on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Students from more than 60 Orange County schools came together to learn about water issues and conservation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Students demonstrate how water filters work at the Children’s Water Education Festival at UC Irvine in Irvine, CA on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Students from more than 60 Orange County schools came together to learn about water issues and conservation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Students from El Sol Academy do an aquifer experiment at the Children’s Water Education Festival at UC Irvine in Irvine, CA on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Students made a simulated aquifer and well to draw water out of the ground.
Students from more than 60 Orange County schools came together to learn about water issues and conservation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Carden Conservatory student Aston Stasiuk tests water acidity at the Children’s Water Education Festival at UC Irvine in Irvine, CA on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Students from more than 60 Orange County schools came together to learn about water issues and conservation. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The third-, fourth- and fifth-graders were able to visit more than 50 hands-on activity booths and lectures, learning about water, pollution and the environment from local and state water agency experts.
“It is important to teach our youth about how to protect our precious resources like water and also to inspire the next generation of water leaders,” Gina Ayala, director of public affairs for the district, said.
This is the two-day festival’s 26th year – it was held on the UC Irvine campus.
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