WRD has awarded dozens of Water Education Teacher Grants to encourage teachers to bring more water education and environmental literacy topics into their classrooms. 
Please see some testimonials from participating teachers below.

"My students revived our garden. They wanted to create a garden that would attract pollinators while at the same time use drought resistant plants. They asked questions, researched the questions, learned, weeded the garden, and planted seeds and other plants. The next step is for them to finish Google Slides and to present to other classes. They will also observe the garden for the next six weeks and see what happens with the garden. They had a wonderful time." 
~ Yvonne P. from Wesley Gaines Elementary School, Paramount USD

"For Earth Day, my students did a water pollution activity.  I used the Amazon gift card to purchase the supplies.  Thank you so much!!   

Before the activity, we talked about how we need water to live.  It's getting hot now, and my students always want a drink of water.  We discussed where we can find water and what would happen if it ran out.  Then I asked them if they remember seeing water under some of the "bridges" we drive over.  We talked about how gross that water looks.  Then I asked them, "What would we do if that was the only water available for us to drink?  What would we have to do to be able to drink that water?"  Then they got to try to find a way to clean polluted water.

 I polluted the water with Cheeze Its, coffee grinds, cooking oil, apple peels, and popcorn kernels.   My students had foil, coffee filters, a spoon, a colander, a cup, a sponge, and paper towels to try to clean the water so we could drink it.  They had so much fun experimenting, learning and playing in the water.  Some of the group found a way to get most of the pollutants out of the water.  A couple of groups miscalculated and lost all of their water.  

 Although the water we got at the end of the activity wasn't drinkable, my class had a good time.  They ALL worked well together in their groups.  There were constructive conversations and teamwork.  Thank you for the gift card and opportunity to bring this to my classroom."

~ Aileen O. from Craig Williams School, Bellflower USD

The 2023 grant recipients were awarded for having either 10+ student entries or 20+ student entries and recieved $75 or $125 Amazon Gift Cards, respectively. Teachers are free to spend the grant as they see fit in order to bring more water education opportunities to their students.

We thank them for their dedication to environmental education and for engaging their students with water conservation and environmental stewardship opportunities!