Kids with squirt guns get to pollute their watershed,
then learn how unhealthy runoff can be prevented.

EnviroScape modelWe understand that global warming is boosting the frequency and intensity of rainfall (particularly the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and Southwest). If a downpour causes flooding, we see the damage and inconvenience.

What most of us don’t see are the many costs from pollution caused when stormwater overwhelms our sewers, pollutes our streams and beaches, and gets into our drinking water.

Now there’s a fun way for school children to actually witness how a watershed works. With this model, they first sprinkle ‘animal waste,’ ‘trash,’ and ‘fertilizer’ onto the plastic landscape. Then they make it rain, watching how the pollutants flow across the watershed and into the town’s waterways and water supply. Afterwards, they discuss ways to climate-proof the watershed.

So, how do we get that squirt bottle and food coloring into the hands of our civic leaders, town officials, and voters?