For Educators

Did you know there's no such thing as "new" water? Water isn't just used; it's recycled and reused. Consider this: The water you drank this morning may have been the same water that dinosaurs drank 65 million years ago! Every molecule of water that was present when the Earth was formed is still present today in one form or another. It may be frozen in ice, suspended in a gaseous state in the atmosphere or it may be in liquid form as in the rivers that run through your region.

Almost 80 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Here are some statistics to consider:

  • 97 percent of the Earth’s water is salty
  • 3 percent of the Earth’s water is fresh
  • 2 percent of the Earth’s water is in glaciers
  • 1 percent is fresh water is available for human consumption

Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, swamps, bogs and marshes are all freshwater habitats. Lumped together, these ecosystems contain all the water in the world that is not frozen, essentially salt-free and accessible to humans.

Here are a variety of recommended resources:

Training

  • Project WET
    The mission of Project WET is to reach children, parents, educators, and communities of the world about water education.

Tools

  • Enviroscape
    A series of portable, table-top models that provide unique, interactive learning experiences, to make the connection between what we do on earth and environmental quality.

Note: The Westchester County Department of Planning has the Enviroscape Coastal model available on loan. For more information, and to reserve the model, contact David Kvinge at , (914) 995-2089, or Nicole Laible at , (914) 995-4423.

Downloadable Activities and other links

  • EPA Water Sourcebooks
    The Water Sourcebooks contain 324 activities for grades K-12 divided into four sections: K-2, 3-5, 5-8 and 9-12. Each section is divided into five chapters: Introduction to Water; Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment; Surface Water Resources; Ground Water Resources; and Wetlands and Coastal Waters.
  • Drinking Water and Groundwater Kids Stuff
  • Nonpoint source pollution (Kids page)
  • Liquid Assets is a public media and outreach initiative seeking to inform the nation about the critical role that our water infrastructure plays in protecting public health and promoting economic prosperity. Liquid Assets explores the history, engineering, and political and economic challenges of our water infrastructure, and engages communities in local discussion about public water and wastewater issues.