Students at three local elementary schools will learn a new way to conserve water as part of a new program that entails collecting it via rain barrels.
The program is being spearheaded by the U.S.-Israel Center on Innovation & Economic Sustainability at UC San Diego. Franklin Elementary in City Heights, Pacific Beach Middle School in PB and Encinitas Union School District Farm Lab are taking part.
The curriculum, recycling water by collecting rain, is modeled after a common conservation effort in Israel. Students will set barrels outside and collect the rainwater to be reused in gardens and for toilet flushing.
It’s the first program of its type in California, said Susan Lapidus with the US-Israel Center at UCSD.
Lapidus said she’s excited that young people will learn how to conserve and recycle water amid California’s drought. She hopes it sets a precedence for future years.
“By bringing it to schools, we reach the youngest, most impressionable Californians,” she said.
There are no immediate plans to expand the pilot program in public schools.
