Education and Water Conservation with Stepping Stone International School: Merging SDG4 and SDG6

The importance of water conservation cannot be stressed enough. In countries with an abundance of water, it is common for people to waste water. What is often overlooked is the lack of education when it comes to saving water.

During my phone conversation with Noshin Paracha, an educator, I earned that in her country in Pakistan they have an abundance of water. She has witnessed how people waste water. We talked about how in Zimbabwe and many other countries there’s a lack of clean water. Our conversation led us to embark on an exciting project that merges sustainable development goals 4 (Education) and 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). We both understood that water conservation protects drinking water sources. Our objective was to implement a pilot program with her students at Stepping Stone International School (SSI) to raise awareness of water conservation.

Conserving water is a significant effort. It includes the policies, strategies, and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water and meet the current and future human demand for water.

This effort requires the use of strategies that include reducing wastage, protecting water and its quality, and improving water management processes. We emphasize that water is critical for sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger.

To pilot the test with students, we outlined the problem and the goal we wanted to achieve. We wanted to spread public awareness to save water and the lack of education about known challenges with water shortages. Working in the school environment, the students at SSI were able to promote small but significant changes in collective behavior that ultimately lead to increased water conservation. The strategies for students on how to save water at school may seem small or insignificant in the face of such enormous environmental challenges that shape our world. Fortunately, countless small actions made by countless individuals can lead to big changes in the environment and in our community.

Conserving water means using our water supply wisely and responsibly. As every individual depends on water for livelihood, we must learn to keep our limited supply of water clean from pollution.

SSI successfully completed the water saving project as outlined:

  1. They spread awareness of water conservation to a huge community.
  2. Different activities were conducted by enthusiastic students to promote the water campaign.
  3. The Montessori students learned the water-saving slogans.
  4. A coloring activity was conducted by students.
  5. Students wrote articles and made presentations.
  6. Students presented their ideas in the local community. They made models/projects for water-saving ideas to raise awareness through videos.
  7. Students held a campaign in their neighborhood and distributed a questionnaire to check daily habits regarding water.

The questionnaire consisted of the following questions:

Q1. How much water do you use for bathing?

Q2. Do you turn off your tap while brushing your teeth?

Q3. How much water do you consume for car washing?

Q4. How much water do you consume for cloth washing?

Q5. How much water do you consume daily for watering the plants in your garden?

Q6. How much water do you use for ablution?

Q7. How often do you use your washing machine?

Q8. How much water do you consume daily for washing vegetables & fruits?

Q9. Is the water supply sufficient to satisfy your needs?

Q10. Do you check water leaks at home regularly?

 

The next step is to implement a water-saving initiative on a large scale in Pakistan using this pilot as a model.