Great Water Mystery assembly a great success in 2014

SYRCL’s River Education Program performed 32 water conservation assemblies and reached 4,246 K-8 students in Nevada and Placer Counties in 2014. The successful return of the “Great Water Mystery”, starring Detective Drizzle, was a joint effort between SYRCL, Nevada Irrigation District, Placer County Water Agency, The City of Nevada City, and The City of Grass Valley.  The goal of “The Great Water Mystery” assembly is to encourage kids to incorporate simple water conservation techniques into their daily lives. This collaboratively funded program comes at a crucial time for water conservation as the state of California is in the middle of a severe drought and Californians are being asked to reduce their water consumption.

How can you help conserve water? We asked the students to share with us how they were going to conserve water in the future after their water cycle investigation with Detective Drizzle. Here are the top five ways students in our communities are working to help us all have enough water to last until it rains again:

1. Take shorter showers.

2. Check toilets for leaks.

3. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth.

4. Water your lawn at night.

5. Don’t run the water while washing the dishes by hand.

For other tips on water conservation, check out the California Department of Water Resources page on water conservation.

“The Great Water Mystery” teaches California and National Science Standards, making it extremely desirable to teachers since it fits well with school curriculum requirements. The presentation is adapted for each grade level, so that the mystery story teaches age-appropriate science concepts for kindergarten through sixth grade while delivering a powerful message about water conservation. The presentation stars Detective Drizzle and uses hilarious audience participation, dramatic slides, exciting demonstrations and fun stories to keep students engaged while teaching them to understand the effects that their actions have on our water supply. SYRCL’s assembly program has educated over 238,000 students about water conversation since 2001.

Students and teachers alike sing the praise of  the “Great Water Mystery”.  A Colfax Elementary School teacher said, “what an engaging way to learn about a serious topic that affects us all!”

“Your presentation was terrific! It was entertaining, funny and we all learned a lot about water,” said a 5th grade student at Bowman Elementary.

“SYRCL’s ‘Great Water Mystery’ starts a critical conversation with local students about where our water comes from, where it goes, and the power each of us has to insure there is enough of this precious resource for us and all of the other species who depend on the river,” said Shana Maziarz, SYRCL Board Member and co-chair of SYRCL’s River Education Committee.

If you are a teacher, parent or school administrator and would like to have the “Great Water Mystery” come to your school in 2015, contact Andrew Collins-Anderson, SYRCL’s River People Coordinator, andrew@syrcl.org, to schedule an assembly today.

SYRCL would like to thank the Nevada Irrigation District, City of Grass Valley, City of Nevada City and Placer County Water Agency, and the Department of Water Resources for providing funding to make this program possible.

For anyone interested in scheduling an assembly for 2015, please contact Andrew Collins-Anderson, SYRCL’s River People Coordinator, at andrew@syrcl.org.