The Peterborough Children's Water Festival is an interactive event held at the Riverview Park and Zoo. It teaches students in grades 2 to 5 the importance of our most valuable resource - water.
The Festival
The Peterborough Steering Committee adopted the "Children's Water Festival" model of fostering awareness of our youth. It educates others about the importance of water and the need to ensure high quality water resources for future generations and the health of our environment.
The Festival brings together the expertise of educators, water quality and quantity specialists, community volunteers, conservation groups, industry and government. Together, they provide local students with the opportunity to discover the importance and diversity of water.
The Activities
The Festival consists of 35 interactive activity centres designed to be hands-on, stimulating and fun. These activity centres encourage further understanding of water concepts taught through the Ontario Curriculum. Students will explore the concepts of:
- Water Conservation - The responsible use of water in our daily lives.
- Water Attitudes - The historical and present day uses of water and attitudes toward water.
- Water Technology - How water is treated, stored and distributed throughout the community.
- Water Protection - The interdependence of water, soil, plants, animals and people, as well as positive steps to keep water clean.
- Water Science - Focuses on the water cycle, surface and groundwater flow, and aquatic environments.
Festival Partners
Over the years, the PCWF has been successful due to the support of a community steering committee and several sub-committees. The Steering Committee members include:- Peterborough Utilities Commission
- Riverview Park and Zoo
- Peterborough Green-Up
- City of Peterborough
- Otonabee Region Conservation Authority
- Ministry of Natural Resources
- Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board
- Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
- Trent University, Geography Department
- OPP - Peterborough County Detachment
This ambitious event could not happen without the support and assistance of many dedicated volunteers and professionals from the water management sector, education, community associations, government, business and news media. By generously contributing time, financial support, goods and services, they continue to make the PCWF a memorable learning experience.
