Red Lake DNR to hold Annual Water Festival on October 12th

The Red Lake DNR is making a splash with their annual “Wave of Knowledge: Where Does Your Water…Shed?” Water Festival which will be held at Concordia Language Villages. Over two hundred 5th grade students and teachers from within the Red Lake Watershed: Blackduck, Kelliher, Northome, Ponemah, Red Lake, and Saint Mary’s Mission, and Schoolcraft schools will be attending. The Water Festival is scheduled for Friday October 12th snow, rain, or shine.

The 5th Grade Water Festival is a tradition of collaborative outdoor environmental education. It is an interagency effort between the Red Lake DNR, Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Beltrami County Environmental Services, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Health, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bemidji State University, and Concordia Language Villages.

Students will have hands-on education regarding nonpoint source and environmental pollution through two interactive contamination models. Students will also have a race to remove nonpoint source pollution from storm drains, and learn about septic systems. The children will learn about forestry, fire impacts, air and water quality, and examine water wildlife adaptations while exploring the soils of the Red Lake Watershed. The students will learn about drinking water, groundwater, source water protection, water conservation, and the water cycle. Students will also have the opportunity to create and experiment with stream channel dynamics.

In addition, each student will have the chance to tour and explore the unique BioHaus, one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world, and learn how conserving energy helps us to keep our waters clean and our fish healthy.

The Water Festival allows us to educate our youth about the important aspects of water pollution within the Red Lake Watershed. The teachers and students that have attended in the past have found the water festival to be fun, informative, well-planned, and entertaining.

http://www.redlakednr.org/PDF/press%20release_12.pdf