• Was there any collaboration between countries?
• How did this activity make you feel?
• How does this activity simulate real life? How is it different? As in the first activity, ask students
how this activity is linked to the three aspects of sustainability: economics, human health and the environment. A variety of answers and opportunities for discussion may come up in this final discussion, and students often have thoughtful responses to the experience, especially if they have been on either end of the scale of affluence and literacy. It is important that they see that economics plays a large role in determining water quality in various parts of the world. In addition, share statistics that help students understand the links between water quality, health and economics. For example, 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related illness. When children are too ill to go to school, it is dif- ficult for them to obtain an education that could enable them to improve the economic well-being of their family.
Taking action: Challenge your students to take action to protect water sources, whether by helping clean up a local water source or by decreasing their own personal water consumption. Students may also wish to plan a fundraising campaign or event to help support an international develop-
ment organization working to provide communities with access to clean water, such as Ryan’s Well Foundation <
www.ryanswell.ca> and PlayPumps International <
www.playpumps.org>.
Amanda Freedman Tetrault teaches Grade 7 science at École River Heights Middle School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is a graduate student at the Univer- sity of Manitoba.
Student testing a water filter.
“Who Polluted the Red River?” is based on the activity “Who Polluted the Potomac?” in People and the Planet: Lessons for a Sustainable Future by
Population Connection <
www.populationeducation.org>; it was adapted from an activity originally developed by the Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center in Accokeek, Maryland. “Clean Water for the World” was adapted with permis-
sion from an activity in the Water for the World workshop developed by Engineers Without Borders/Ingénieurs Sans Frontières Canada, a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with people in developing communities to implement technologies that will improve their lives. EWB volunteers visit high schools across Canada to present interactive, in-class workshops on water, food security and energy resources. For information about school work- shops, visit <
www.ewb.ca> or contact Sarah Takaki at
sarahtakaki@ewb.ca.
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