“Save the Planet’s Water Festivals” Recruiting Volunteers

Each year the district presents what amount to conservation boot camps known as the Save the Planet’s Water Festivals (STPWF). The STPWF’s are open to all 4th graders throughout the district and are designed to train future Water Rangers with the desire and ability to protect and defend water resources everywhere! 

The festivals take place in Dalhart, Dumas and Perryton on three consecutive days, engaging over 800 students and adults in a full day of hands-on interactive learning about groundwater and other natural resources. This year’s festivals are scheduled for April 18 in Dalhart, April 19 in Dumas and April 20th in Perryton. 

“These festivals are a way for the district to participate in the lives of these young stewards of our environment at a time when they are forming opinions and ideas about the world around them,” said District General Manager, Steve Walthour. “They are only ten years away from the right to vote and impact decisions about our natural resources,” said Walthour. 

The festivals are about learning, but they are also about having lots of fun, with the possibility of getting wet! The idea of being a Water Ranger adds a sense of adventure to a subject that may not be that exciting, despite its desperate importance to our society. “When the day is over we want to see big smiles and we usually do, but we also want the students to realize they can have an impact on this critical resource, even as soon as when they get to their homes that very day,” said District Assistant General Manager for Outreach, Kirk Welch. “This is empowering to the students and they take ownership of the responsibility and the opportunity to make a difference,” said Welch. 

Students will have the opportunity to attend eight different interactive presentations during the day to learn more about water and water conservation, as well as aquatic organisms and Panhandle wildlife. 

“While we have great corporate and community partners who support the festivals each year, there are many opportunities for groups and individuals to participate in this worthwhile, rewarding and just plain fun event,” said Walthour. For information about volunteering for the “Save Our Planet’s Water” Festival, contact Kirk Welch at 806-935-6401 or kwelch@ northplainsgcd.org. 

For more information about the Save the Planet’s Water Festivals, contact Kirk Welch at 806-935-6401 or email kwelch@northplainsgcd.org , or visit our website at www.northplaindgcd.org.