KINGFIELD — Polluted water isn’t good for the earth. That was what Cody Ladd from Phillips said he learned Friday after creating his own water filter.
As dirty water trickled through the soil, rocks and small cotton balls he had stuffed into a cut plastic water bottle, “the water comes out cleaner,” he said.
About 135 other third- and fourth-graders in all SAD 58 schools gathered at Kingfield Elementary School to learn about water resources and the environment with Poland Spring Water Co. volunteers.
They were taking part in a water festival, Make a Splash with Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), a national program sponsored by Nestle Waters North America, said Heather McBean, the full-time environmental education coordinator for Poland Spring.
Poland Spring Water Co. is a subsidiary of Nestle Waters North America and has a bottling plant in Kingfield.
This day of water education is celebrated in all 50 states and is one of the largest nationwide days of water education in the world, she said.
Traveling from station to station featuring creative, fun and some hands-on activities, the students were taught about issues such as water conservation and stewardship, natural habitats, soil erosion, the water cycle, health and wellness and the importance of recycling. They even created their own rain sticks.
Guides were provided for the teachers to expand the lessons in the classroom.
McBean and Mark LaPlante, natural resource supervisor for Poland Spring, have a vision for educating kids and participate in other programs within the school system for both elementary and high school students.
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