The Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cites
Nicky York, Third Place
Grade 4, Coastal Christian School
Teacher: Mrs. Melanie Schrei
Conserving Water
I know I’m only a fourth grader, and a small, really small one too, but that doesn’t mean small people can’t change a big world. Now that I told you about me, you probably wonder why I picked this topic. There are two examples of why this topic is important to me. First, I see people (mostly kids) just horsing around with the hose, and yes it is fun, but do you ever think, or even care, that the water being sprayed as a game is perfectly clean water which should be saved? Second, some people take 15 minute showers, and do not care about how much water they’re wasting. These examples describe wasting water that should be saved, but why? What why I’m going to tell you about today are: some fun tips, the truth about water conservation, how it is beneficial and fair to all concerned, and, yes, how this can help us build better good will and friendships.
Is it Fair to all concerned?
What does this mean to you? To me it means “EQUAL” or “SAME”. Do you think it’s fair to farmers when you take a 15 minute shower? No way! You probably do not know or care how much work a farmer puts into one little berry. To add on to that it takes a lot of water to grow berries. To make it even harder, we’re in the middle of the worst drought in California in hundreds of years, so you should probably not take a 15 minute shower (even 10 minute), and do not play with the hose! Do you think it is fair to everyone else when one person affects everyone? I don’t think it is fair at all! Conserving water by avoiding unnecessary waste is fair to all of us. We can all have enough water for a short shower and enjoy fresh berries too!
Is it Beneficial to all concerned?
What comes to mind when you hear this word? When I think of this word I think of what might happen if we did something. Would it have a positive or negative outcome? Well, I know for one if you conserve water you help ranches and farms make more fruit, or vegetables, or even cocoa. Sadly I also know if you do not conserve water you’ll get a big water bill.
On top of that, farms and ranches can’t grow products, so you can’t get a lot of fresh fruit. Since food is beneficial to everyone, conserving water for farmers to use to grow food is beneficial to everyone, too!
Will it build Good Will and Friendship?
When you hear these words you probably think about friends, or relationships. You probably all have one friend at least, but how can you make friends by conserving water? You may or may not have a kid in your neighborhood who you don’t know, and maybe you could go to their house and ask them if both of you can form a group of kids that remind people to conserve water. You could make posters, and signs to remind people to save water. You can invite other friends, and build better friendships with them. What if you do not live in neighborhood, and you live on a ranch? You could maybe become friends with a kid you don’t know at school, or a new kid at school, and make posters. Maybe you can get a big enough group of kids to convince teachers to have an assembly about conserving water. This kind of action helps to build goodwill in our community.
Is it the Truth?
You probably think of the truth as describing what really happened. I know that is what my Dad asks my brother and I all the time. Have you ever seen Finding Bigfoot, or a show like that. Just from my knowledge I know that is fake, but what I told you today is not fake. I know this for a fact. If you watch the news they’ll probably say something about the drought, and on top of that, if you search the web there will be bunches of stuff about the drought, and (sorry there is so much stuff) on top of that there are a lot of signs telling people to conserve water so does this tell you that this is the TRUTH!
Now that you’ve read this really long report on conserving water, I have to give you some ways to save water. Number one, if you’re a kid, you like to wait for the water to get warm when you take a shower, but it’s a waste of water. Instead, you should put your mother’s mop bucket in the shower and catch the water. Then use that water to water plants. Number two, you know how kids, or even adults, take long showers. That is a waste of water, so you could pick your favorite song and try to get out of the shower before the song is over. Number three, get a barrel to catch rain water and use that to water plants because people use a lot of water with the hose. Number four, when you use the hose and when you turn it off it still drips, that’s a waste of water, so you should always make sure it doesn’t leak. Number five, kids or sometimes adults keep the water running while they brush their teeth, which is a waste of water, so to prevent it you simply turn the water off. Number six, if you have a pool and don’t cover it evaporation will happen and make you have to refill the pool again and again. To stop this from happening simply put a tarp over it. Now that I’ve gone over every topic, and given you some tips to save water, I am sad to say this is the end of my four way test.