Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE

Age:

• 12-18

Philanthropy is:

• Giving, serving and private citizen action intended for the common good.

Purpose:

• Participants will learn about the water supply and understand the importance of water conservation. Youth will understand that water conservation and environmental stewardship are philanthropic actions.

Objectives:

The young person will:

• understand the importance of water conservation for the common good.
• identify the many uses of water in our daily lives.
• determine the amount of water that is used in various ways, what uses are necessities and what may not be.
• understand that the water supply is limited.
• identify preserving our environment as a philanthropic act.
  

Activity Theme:

“We did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”

~Chief Seattle, leader of the Suquamish tribe in the Pacific Northwest, most famous for his 1854 speech on environmentalism

Activity Steps:

• Begin by asking participants to estimate how many gallons of water each of them uses every day. Have participants write down their estimates and put them aside for future reference.
• Divide the participants into small groups of 3-4 each. Ask them to brainstorm all the ways they can think of that they use water every day. Compile a complete list of the answers the groups make. Ask the youth to share the amounts they estimated at the beginning of class.
• Distribute Attachment One—Common Water Uses and Amounts (scroll to bottom of page to view) showing statistics of how much water various activities use. Using a gallon jug, explain that two-thirds of the people in the world use just thirteen gallons of water each day. Ask how this compares with their estimates. Explain that the average American uses approximately 100-105 gallons of water each day. Attachment One also provides the group with statistics that show the amount of water it takes to produce several common items we use every day such as a tomato, a gallon of milk, energy to light a light bulb and production of newsprint. Ask for reactions to these statistics.
• Ask the participants to guess how much of the earth’s water is available for use by humans and animals. After several estimates, explain that only three percent of the total amount of the earth’s water is fresh water; and of that three percent, only one percent is actually available for our use. The rest is too deep underground or locked up in ice caps.
• Explain that being careful about using natural resources, including water, is called conservation which is a form of environmental stewardship.
  

Processing Questions:

1. Why do you think water conservation is important?
2. Why do you think Americans use more water than the people from other nations?
3. What are some ways that you can conserve water everyday?
4. What surprised you the most about what you discovered in this activity?
5. What else would you like to learn about the earth’s supply of water?
6. How can you use your time, talents and/or treasures to help protect the environment for the common good?
7. How does or can media, movies, and pop-culture play a positive role?
   

Variation:

Read and discuss key thoughts and ideas from the speech given by Chief Seattle, Leader of the Susquamish Nation, and compare its relevancy to today’s world. Are we listening? What else can we do? (Note: the speech can be found on the Internet or at the local library in this book:

Seattle, Chief. Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message from Chief Seattle. Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0803709692

Plan your own Earth Day for your youth group, community or school. Learn about the first Earth Day held in the late 70’s—and how it still relates to the youth of today. This is a great way to do an inter-generational project. Notify the local media. Do your research, planning, prepare ways for people to get involved, learn and have fun. Then make sure you serve as a good role model for your community. People will follow what you do, not what you say!

Supplemental Activity:

Provide Attachment Two—Recording Sheet for Water Usage (scroll to bottom of page to view) for participants to record the amount of water they use for the next 24 hours. Findings can be briefly discussed at the next group meeting.

Activity Source:

Adapted from Learning to Give Lesson (Grades 6-8) “Where Has all the Water Gone”
Unit “Water Resources and the Role of the Independent Sector”

Additional Resources:

Native Americans
Learning to Give Lesson (Grades 3-5) “First Conservationists”
Unit “Real Heroes”

Native Americans
Learning to Give Lesson (Grades 3-5) “Native Americans and Giving”
Unit “How Did We Help”

Recycling
Learning to Give Lesson (Grades 3-5) “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!”
Unit “Earth Connections”

 

Attachment One

Common Water Uses and Amounts

Directions: Use this list to get a reasonable estimate of the amount of water used for each of the following activities:

Washing Hands	1/4 gallon per minute
Showering	30 gallons per 10 minutes
Bath	40 gallons
Brushing teeth	1-2 gallons
Washing a car	20 gallons
Flushing a toilet	3.5 to 5 gallons/use, (low flow toilets 1.6 gallons)
Washing dishes by hand	20 gallons
Washing dishes w/ dishwasher	10 gallons
Laundry	30 gallons per load
Drinking Water	1/2 gallon per day
Watering lawn	240 gallons (30 minutes)

How Much Water Does It Take?

1. It takes 4,000 gallons of water to generate enough electricity to light a 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours.
2. To produce the newsprint that newspapers use each day, it takes 300 million gallons of water.
3. To produce one gallon of milk, a cow must consume four gallons of water.
4. Eight gallons of water are needed to grow one tomato.

Please note: The above examples are used to illustrate the amount of water needed to produce some everyday things.

Attachment Two

Recording Sheet for Water Usage

Activity	Frequency	Amount of Water Used/Use	Total Water Used
Drinking
Showering/Bathing
Brushing Teeth
Dish Washing
Flushing Toilets
Other

How does your water usage compare to that of the average person in the United States?

 

 

 

What are three things you and your family can do to help conserve water?

 

 

 

 

Philanthropy Theme Framework :

Strand Standard Benchmark PHIL I. Definitions of Philanthropy DP 01. Define Philanthropy HS 1. Define philanthropy to include giving and sharing; volunteering; and private individual action intended for the common good. Explain how a volunteer group can act for the common good. PHIL I. Definitions of Philanthropy DP 01. Define Philanthropy MS 1. Define philanthropy as individuals and organizations providing their time, talent, and/or treasures intended for the common good throughout history and around the world. Give examples.