Since 1994 the Waterloo Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival has been educating the youth of Wellington County and the Regional Municipality of Waterloo on groundwater.
The week-long annual event, taking place at Marden Park in Guelph until May 28, covers a wide range of topics relating to groundwater use such as how to minimize waste and how township chlorination systems function.
For municipalities such as Centre Wellington that source 100 per cent of their freshwater from groundwater, the lessons learned at this week’s festival can be brought back home.
Some local township staff were invited to the festival on May 27, and Centre Wellington’s Managing Director of Community Services, Adam Gilmore, said the event is a great show of groundwater systems.
Mayor Shawn Watters was also in attendance, and said the lessons being taught are applicable to everyone.
Township of Centre Wellington’s logo on a truck | Mik Horvath
The Waterloo Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival has been educating the youth for decades.
Past chair and one of the founding members of the festival, Peter Gray, said Canadians can be quick to forget about the significance of safe drinking water partly due to its sheer abundance.
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- The activity showcasing the efficiency of different showerhead designs has been a festival staple since 1994 | Mik Horvath
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- Curious kids learning about low-flow toilets | Mik Horvath
Gray has been a hydrogeologist for decades; he studies and works with water flowing beneath the ground and how that affects surrounding environments.
In the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, residents have significantly decreased water usage because of conservation efforts, many of those practices and ideas are points of interest at the festival.
Water is found nearly everywhere and affects nearly everything which is why Gray, alongside other supporters of the festival, are continuing to push for this education and interaction.
Gray said also providing a space for outdoor and hands-on education is a very effective way of getting the message across.
Simply seeing such a tangible curiosity for his life’s work, Gray couldn’t be happier that the festival lives on.
Gray said around 30 buses full of schoolchildren arrive each day to learn about groundwater | Mik Horvath
The final day of the Waterloo Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival is Friday, May 28.
