Blount County SWCS/NRCS Helps Host Groundwater Festival

By Merry Buford, NRCS District Conservationist, Blount County, Alabama

Water is life! Everything needs water to live, and not just any water, clean and reliable water.

This was the message presented as Blount County held its first Groundwater Festival since 2004. All the fourth graders in the county were invited to attend. The activities were the Edible Aquifer and the Rainstick.

The Edible Aquifer teaches students about the importance of groundwater and how it can be polluted. Not only is it a learning experience, but the students get to eat what they create! The aquifer is built with gummy worms to represent life, ice cream to represent soil, clear soda to represent water, and various sprinkles to represent pollution. A straw is added to represent how we get groundwater from wells for public consumption.

The Rainstick teaches students what types of precipitation we have and how the Earth has all the water it ever will since water is a nonrenewable resource. The students got to build and decorate their own Rainstick while hearing a story about a little boy that learns the importance of water. The students were able to explain what their decorations symbolize and how that relates to the story they heard.

After the students finished the activities and lunch, they were able to watch a magic show by Steve Trash. Steve’s magic show explains a little more about conservation while entertaining the students. He also helped present the winners of the t-shirt contest.

This year's winner was Lilly Patterson of Locust Fork Elementary School. Lilly received a gift card along with the honor of having her art work printed on all the t-shirts for the festival’s attendees.

The 2009 Blount County Groundwater Festival was a huge success with the help and support of all the volunteers and the people that worked diligently behind the scenes.

The Groundwater Festival was sponsored by the Blount County SWCD, NRCS, ADEM, CAWACO RC&D, ACES, Jack’s, Tyson, Cullman Coca Cola, Wallace State Community College, Wal-Mart, Oneonta Utilities, Pine Bluff Water Authority, Town of Nectar, Town of Hayden, Town of Snead, Blount County Water Authority, Blountsville Utilities, Cleveland Utilities, Blount County Board of Education, First Baptist Church Cleveland, Helms Hay Farm, and Pump and Process Equipment, Inc.

Students construct rain sticks.

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