Water for All!

Posters that students made at the Water For All event at Saint Michael’s College.

Bright and early on Wednesday, April 9, the Saint Michael’s Campus welcomed over 100 elementary and middle school students from St. Francis Xavier School in Winooski. In a beautiful collaboration between the Institute for the Environment, Global Engagement, Equity and Justice, and MOVE, we were able to support the fundraising and mission of St. Francis’ students to raise money for the nonprofit, Healing Waters International.

The day began with Saint Michael’s College volunteers gathered together on the McCarthy lawn, clad in our Water for All t-shirts, ready to greet students from 3rd to 8th grade! We brought our biggest energy and smiles as we met our groups and began the activities that would lead up to the main event – a walk-a-thon around campus with all of St. Francis and Saint Michael’s College volunteers!

Students from Saint Francis Xavier School make posters in the MakerSpace at Saint Michael’s College.

There were four activities that our student volunteers facilitated for the children in order to teach them more about water insecurity, pollution, and safety. My group was a rowdy bunch of third graders, ready to do science experiments on a college campus! We started strong with a lesson on water pollution, led by students from Professor Katy Farber’s Teaching Science in the Elementary Grades course. These pre-service teachers coordinated a fun activity for us in which the kiddos polluted their water cup as much as possible, and then attempted to clean it using a coffee filter. When touching base with other groups, I also heard tales of learning about buoyancy, water erosion, and more! Next, we moved to Professor Declan McCabe’s critter-filled activity! Our kiddos got buckets of pond water and learned about types of biodiversity found in Vermont’s water systems. They were given tools and the opportunity to become amateur entomologists. Professor McCabe even pulled out a crayfish that was the star of the show! Half of my third graders were prepared to become “bug scientists” and completely enthralled, while the other half scooted their chairs far away from the buckets. We all had a great time learning about pond life and bugs with the guidance of our professors and volunteers!

Students from Saint Francis Xavier School make posters in the MakerSpace at Saint Michael’s College.

We then headed off (running at top speed) to the Makerspace! Here we worked on posters that we would carry during the Walk-a-thon later in the day. It was also an incredible opportunity for the students to learn about the Makerspace. They were intrigued by the 3D printers, which were building water filtration pieces that would be used in a local river. To round out the morning, we ran back across campus to decorate reusable water bottles. The Institute for the Environment provided bottles and all of our Institutes and partners provided stickers for the students to decorate with. My group immediately filled their bottles up, excited to begin their eco-warrior journey! Then we wrapped up with lunch in Alliot – it was so wonderful seeing the dining hall filled with our new St. Francis-Xavier friends!

Then the afternoon portion of our programming began. Everyone headed to McCarthy, where the St Francis Xavier kindergarteners, first, and second graders joined us on campus for our panel of speakers. We welcomed Walter Nonemaker, the director of Healing Waters International, our very own Saint Michael’s College international student, Olivier Niyonshuti, and Judy Dow, an Abenaki elder as well as indigenous scholar, educator, and advocate.

Posters that students made at the Water For All event at Saint Michael’s College.

Lastly, it was time for the main event! The Water For All Walk-A-Thon! All of the students from St. Francis and their teachers gathered on the lawn, freshly-made posters in hand, ready to march around campus. The middle schoolers could be heard across campus, chanting “H2O”, prompting laughs from all the undergraduates as they headed to class! Once we all returned, Father Yvon of St. Francis (and a Saint Michael’s College alum!) presented Walter, the director Healing Waters International, with a check for over $18,000 that the students had diligently fundraised! It was a beautiful celebration of the hard work and accomplishments of Healing Waters International, as the St Francis students’ commitment to this cause.

And with that, Water For All came to a close. The Saint Michael’s College volunteers lined up, waving goodbye and giving high fives to our new St. Francis friends as they headed home. Spirits were high – the event brought together many campus and community partners, all united to raise awareness and make a difference around water inequities in our world.