The 2013 Children's Water Festival will be held at the Kinark Outdoor Centre on September 30 & October 1! See registration flyer on the Teachers page.

2012 Festival was a Splash!

Over 900 elementary students, teachers, and parents participated in the 2012 Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children's Water Festival at the Kinark Outdoor Centre on October 1st & 2nd. Both days were filled with sunshine, smiling faces and a lot of watery activity! Participants came from across the Trillium Lakelands District School Board area, including the County of Haliburton, City of Kawartha Lakes and District of Muskoka, to learn about water and how to play a role in its protection.

Laughter was heard throughout the festival grounds as children and adults got their hands wet at 43 different activity centres. The steering committee was pleased to unveil 2 new activity stations, Osprey Survivor and the Water Hero Scavenger Hunt, as well as welcome 13 Outside Presenters who delivered a variety of water related activities. This festival is a real celebration of water education and its success is due to the many supporters and volunteers who help us make it happen.

The HMK Children's Water Festival steering committee and our charitable organization, Friends of Ecological and Environmental Learning, extend our gratitude and appreciation to all who donated finances, material and time. Together we are making a splash in water education and stewardship! THANK YOU!

Arriving at the HMK Children's Water Festival

Water Hero Scavenger Hunt
(photos by Valerie Coleman)

2012 Festival Report

The 2012 Children's Water Festival report is now available. Click here to download it.

Children's Water Festival

The Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children's Water Festival is an annual event that motivates students to become water stewards in their homes, classroom and community. By combining hands-on interactive activities with messages relevant to their daily lives, students 'soak up' knowledge on the properties, uses, connections and importance of water. With this knowledge, students become aware of the value of conserving and protecting water.

Through a series of 35-40 interactive activity centres, students in grades 4 to 6 will explore the concepts of:

• Water conservation - the responsible use of water in our daily lives
• Water attitudes - historical and present day uses and attitudes toward water
• Water technology - how water is treated, stored and distributed throughout the community
• Water protection - the interdependence of ground and surface water, soil, plants, animals and people and positive steps people can take to keep water clean, and
• Water science - the water cycle, surface and groundwater flow, watersheds and aquatic environments

The learning stations are designed to be hands-on, stimulating and fun, encouraging further understanding of water concepts taught through the school curriculum.

Making A Splash!

"You can expect your kid to return a budding water warrior after visiting the annual Haliburton-Muskoka Children's Water Festival (www.hmwaterfestival.ca), which takes place in late September in Minden, Ont."
Anne Casselman, Canadian Geographic, June 2011

It is an honour that the Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children's Water Festival is mentioned in the June 2011 issue of the Canadian Geographic magazine as an ideal place for children to learn about water!

You can read the entire article at www.canadiangeographic.ca.

Thank you to all who help bring this event to our youth and to all the principals, teachers and parents who recognize its importance! Together we are making a splash!

Enviro-Heros!

The Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children’s Water Festival and its parent organization, Friends of Ecological and Environmental Learning (FEEL), were recognized for the valuable role that this fun and unique festival plays in water education when they received the 2010 Haliburton Land Trust Enviro-Hero award for Education. This is a wonderful honour and the HMK Children's Water Festival steering committee would like to thank all our partners, financial supporters and community volunteers that have been, and continue to be, critical in making this event the success that it is! Thank you and congratulations!

Thank you to Chad Ingram and Sun Media for providing us with this photo of Heather Ross, Irene Heaven and Rick Whitteker accepting the award at the HHLT Gala on May 28, 2010.