ENCINITAS — Evie Naples said her older brother is prone to taking 20-minute showers, where 17 minutes of the shower he watches water go down the drain.
“I’ve been asking him to take shorter showers, and he is starting to listen,” 8-year-old Evie said.
What prompted Evie to ask her brother to take shorter showers?
It’s one of the tips that she and 17 of her classmates in Margit Boyesen’s class at Cardiff Elementary learned and then presented on Feb. 6 in the form of a five-minute public service announcement at a school assembly.
One by one, the second and third-grade students, each holding a poster board with an important water-saving tip, read their tip aloud to the school assembly. A video of the presentation can be viewed online at: thinkingwritingcreating.edublogs.org/
“With the epic drought we’re experiencing in California, it’s important to make people aware and involve as many in the conversation as possible, wouldn’t you agree?” Boyesen said. “The kids have really taken the lessons to heart, both here and at their homes.”
Students said they learned that California is in the midst of one of the largest droughts on record, and that every little bit they do to help save water goes a long way.
“Since we’re in a drought, we just wanted to help the community save water,” Max Singer said.
When asked to define “drought,” 7-year-old McKinley Blehm said “when our country is running out of water, and it’s not raining a lot.”
So, what have they been doing to help save water?
Corinna Kreinberg said she has timed her showers so that she’s in and out in three minutes.
Paul Andranian said he has been collecting rain water and using it to water his plants.
Edie Brady said she’s taken leftover drinking water and, rather than throwing it away, has used it to water plants.
When Sasha Tien said she’s been brushing her teeth with no water, almost all of Boyesen’s class shot their hands up in unison.
When asked if they were used to the dry tooth-brushing sessions, most said it was “weird.”
“It’s not that weird,” Sasha quickly responded. “I do it all the time.”
The kids said they have been doing their best to admonish their parents, older siblings and anyone who listens to do their part in saving water. For the most part, they said, they’ve been met with a listening ear.
Sasha said her father has taken the big step in covering the family Jacuzzi and taking shorter showers.
And, of course, there is Evie, who said her brother is still a work in progress.
“Sometimes he listens,” she said, with a giggle.
