August 3, 2006 – CSP Day 19
Quinnipiac River Team CSAP

H20 Patrol
Quinnipiac River Team CSAP


Natasha from the Q River Team facilitates Water Conservation Jeopardy

The Quinnipiac River Team was challenged to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation by creating recycled art and a public theater-type activity.

The youth created slogans and facts, accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations to put on recycled fans made from the paperboard lunch trays in the packaged lunches the campers receive through the New Haven Board of Education. The youth decided they would give out the fans on the New Haven Green during the heat wave, presenting the public with both facts and a handy way to cool down.


The West River Team explains how much water ordinary household activities consume to the public on the Green

For their theater-type activity, the youth decided on two strategies. One would be to have two of their group (Christian and Trevon, plus A'chan at last minute) dress up as clowns and lead the other two river teams around the green with banners, fans and stickers talking about water conservation.


Bernice and Natasha playing Water Conservation Jeopardy with a passerby

The Q River Team would also have a stationary booth with Water Conservation Jeopardy(a Solar Youth creation), a game they themselves played to learn a little about water conservation. They added a new category to the game (Public Use and New Haven Rivers), also writing the questions.


JJ, a Solar Youth veteran, cools down with Whitney's Water donated by the RWA

The public played for candies and everyone was offered a free bottle of water (donated by the Regional Water Authority!) to cool them on a hot day. The booth also had fans and stickers to hand out. The stickers were donated by the staff of the Whitney Water Center, the educational arm of the RWA.

Everyone had a blast and after awhile, the heat didn't feel so hot. The youth feel that the public really listened and got some knowledge from their project.


The Mill River Team marching around the Green with a H2O Patrol banner, handing out fans and doing a water conservation chant

Water conservation messages on the recycled art fans:

Turn off your faucet, it’s not hard
You’re wasting water from Lake Gallard!
Brushing your teeth with the water on wastes 10 times more water than if you shut off the tap.

Washing your dishes by hand is good
I’m not saying you must, I’m saying you should.
Washing dishes in the dishwasher: 20 gallons of water
Washing dishes by hand: 10 gallons of water
You do the math!

Water: it's not made to waste,
It's made to drink, it's made to taste!
1% of all the water in the world is freshwater that everyone must share, including humans, animals and plants.

Please don't have your sprinklers on all the time,
Taking water from the fishes is just a crime!
Having your sprinkler system on more than necessary wastes water.

We also raised $86.86 through donation given to be put toward our end of camp trip, an overnight at Great Mountain camp.


SCA Interns Borrowed from ECPC


Mira and Liz, SCA Interns from ECPC

During the hot (105 degrees) weather this week, our friend, Ilisa Kelman from Elm City Parks Conservancy (ECPC) called us up and asked if her Student Conservation Association (SCA) interns could work with us, instead of roasting outside. We said sure, so Liz and Mira joined us for the last few days. Mira worked with the Mill River Team and Liz joined the West River Team.

We’d like to thank them for helping out and we hope they had a great time!