NHWWA is proud to be a member of the Drinking Water Coalition that sponsors the 4th Grade NH Drinking Water Festival and the state-wide Water Science Fair and Poetry Contest. This year the festival was held virtually and we had great participation in the science fair and poetry contest.
Fourth grade students, inspired by their questions about the world and a desire to solve real problems, competed in the New Hampshire 4th Grade State Water Science Fair May 3-6, 2022. Students explored a wide variety of topics, including erosion, ocean salinity, water science and water/energy conservation solutions to address climate change. Despite Covid-19 limitations, students from eight schools from the following communities participated in this annual event: Gilsum, Hampstead, Harrisville, Keene, Dover and Manchester. Students presented their science projects to panels of judges virtually.
Fourth Grade Water Science Fair Results:
First Place: Ava Laffond and Julia Clark, Gilsum for the project “The Water Cycle”
Second Place: Dominic Heath, Keene for the project “Pollution on the Ashuelot River”
Third Place: Valiant Tran, Dover for the project “Effects of Water Quality on Germination”
Additionally, 161 classroom and home schooled third- through fifth-grade students composed and submitted poems for the fourth annual Water Poetry Contest! Poems focused on the theme “Water and Me.” Entries were thoughtful, funny and moving, and were perfect examples of our physical, emotional, and for some, spiritual connection to water, which made it very difficult for the judges to select the most worthy poems.
Water Poetry Contest Results:
First Place: Remy Foucher, third grade homeschooler from Newton for “Imagining the Ocean”
Second Place: Jasper O’Shaughnessy, fifth grader from Concord for “Blue Copy”
Third Place: Reno Honda, fourth grader from North Hampton for “I Am”
Honorable Mention: Alexis Peterson, fourth grader from Chester for “The Peaceful Blue”
To read student poems and learn more, visit NHDES on Facebook or Twitter and the event website at https://nhwaterfestival.org/.
The Water Science Fair and Poetry Contest celebrate National Drinking Water Week, May 1-7. The events were sponsored by the New Hampshire Drinking Water Coalition in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to encourage future leaders and scientists to learn about one of the world’s most precious resources, water!
These events are generously supported by donations and volunteers from many organizations, including:
- City of Concord General Services
- Comprehensive Environmental, Inc.
- Edgewater Strategies
- Granite State Analytical
- City of Keene Water Department
- City of Manchester Water Works
- New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
- New Hampshire Water Well Association
- New Hampshire Water Works Association
- Plymouth Village Water and Sewer District
- RCAP Solutions, Inc.
For more information about the event, please contact Lara Hooper at (603) 271-4071, NH Department of Environmental Services.