Last month Arizona Project WET (APW), The University of Arizona, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences honored the Abbott Fund and Abbott Nutrition at the Abbott Founding Sponsor Celebration! Over two years ago, the Abbott Fund contacted APW because they wanted to sponsor a water conservation and education program in Pinal County, AZ where the local Abbott Nutrition plant is located. Since then, Abbott and APW have been working together to provide effective water education and conservation messaging to a multigenerational audience. To date the program has quantified over three million gallons of water in projected annual savings!
The night would not have been complete without hearing from some of the students who have benefited from the project! Sixth graders from Casa Grande Middle School, Villago Middle School, and Cactus Middle School presented the results of their School Water Audit Program (SWAP). They had been working on the SWAP with Abbott volunteers throughout the 2010/2011 school year. In total, they saved over one million gallons of water on their school campuses this year!
Of course the SWAP would not have been possible without their teachers, who each participated in a four part 32-hour SWAP professional development workshop. As a reward for their hard work and dedication, Abbott presented each school with a set of TurningPoint Digital Responder systems to assist them in continuing to promote 21st Century Learning in their classroom.
Special thanks to Rick Gibson - Director of Pinal County Cooperative Extension, Kerry Schwartz - Director of Arizona Project WET, Dr. Jim Christensen - Associate Dean of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, David Snider - Pinal County Supervisor, and the Casa Grande Elementary School District for helping us celebrate Abbott's honorable commitment to water stewardship!
To learn more about Arizona Project WET's School Water Audit Program, other direct student outreach programs, or teacher professional development opportunities please visit Arizona Project WET or contact Tasha Krecek-Lynch!
Leave a comment