Did you know that Lake Erie is the eleventh largest lake in the world? And did you know that the Great Lakes have about six quadrillion gallons of freshwater? Yup, I said quadrillion. That’s 15 zeros. That’s about 20% of all the freshwater in the world. Pretty interesting, right? Well, all of that freshwater is an important resource and a group of students at Beachwood High School are determined to keep Lake Erie clean for generations to come.
AQUA is an awareness campaign through the Excel TEK Making and Junior Achievement program at Beachwood High School. The goal is to educate communities about water conservation and to encourage Northeast Ohio residents to clean up beach areas along Ohio’s Great Lake. The campaign kicked off in early April with an art installation in the Pinecrest shopping district. The instruction was designed by South African artist, Neill Wright. It included large inflatable structures that have a tropical motif and show how important clean water is for healthy ecosystems. You probably remember that we told you in episode 23 that an ecosystem is a community of living things that interact with each other in their physical environment.
The art installation will be at several other locations in the spring, and its finale will be in early June, in the City of Beachwood.
The students involved told us that this project is particularly important to them because Lake Erie has been an important part of their lives. They remember swimming, fishing, and boating in the lake over their entire lives.
Their teacher, Mr. Perry, told us they were motivated by social responsibility and the idea that they can make a difference.
Max, a senior at Beachwood, told us that the project challenged them to overcome real-world problems and they were able to learn outside of the traditional classroom setting. His classmate, Sepanta, added that the hand-on approach was more valuable than any other activity they’ve done.
In addition to the art installation, AQUA is hosting a Splash Party at the Van Aken District, in Shaker Heights, and dinner and reception at District Gallery.
This weeks A+ Award goes to a very impressive group of students from Beachwood High School for making sure our Great Lake stays great.
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