Month: May 2026
We are six students from the Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars (CODES) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) working to educate the youth about good water conservation practices in hopes that they implement these same water habits in their home. Looking at the bigger picture, we want to influence this new generation to be knowledgeable about water and combat climate change. We have orchestrated our own water fair at Jackie Joyner-Kersee Academy (JJK Academy) with students aged 8-10. We had 4 stations that focused on water conservation vocabulary, soil, water runoff, and water filtration. By participating in water fairs, children are exposed to water conservation exercises and will want to take pride in conserving their Earth.
This is important to the St. Louis area because it is located on a flood plain. Not only is this area on a flood plain, it also has a heavily industrial background. The pipes that are underground are deteriorating over time and are not sustainable during heavy rains. Areas in Illinois like Cahokia Heights (formerly Cahokia, Centreville, and Alorton) and East St. Louis face sewage flooding into their yards.
We have interviewed local educators and organizations, surveyed nearly 200 educators regarding their part in water conservation education, and learned from SIUE’s own STEM Center faculty about what it takes to develop lesson plans. These methods were crucial in tackling our wicked problem because we were able to soak in all this information and seek a game plan. We decided to tackle after school programming which, we learned, has less regulations. Read further to learn about the steps we took to, ultimately, orchestrate our very own water fair!
After a year of researching and brainstorming, we decided to host a water fair at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Academy in October 2025. There were 4 stations, each outlined and facilitated by one of us CODE Scholars: “The Magic of Water Filtration” by Justin Richerson, “The Dirt Detective” by Marques Rutlin, “Runoff with Water Knowledge” by Sonia Sheryr, and “Water Word Wonders” by Alexandra Guerrero. These stations were created to engage students hands-on while teaching them about water and good water practices.
