“The world is thirsty, because we are hungry” Not a nice way to start this article but unfortunately this is the truth... There are 7 billion people to feed on the planet today and another 2 billion are expected to join by 2050. Statistics say that each of us drinks from 2 to 4 litres of water every day, however most of the water we ‘drink’ is embedded in the food we eat: producing 1 kilo of beef for example consumes 15,000 litres of water while 1 kilo of wheat ’drinks up’ 1,500 litres. When a billion people in the world already live in chronic hunger and water resources are under pressure we cannot pretend the problem is ‘elsewhere’. What can we do to help the world less thirsty and therefore less hungry? •
consume less water-intensive products;
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reduce the scandalous food wastage: 30% of the food produced worldwide is never eaten and the water used to p
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produce more food, of better quality, with less water
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follow a healthier diet.
World Water Day grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. World Water Day in 2005 marked the beginning of the UN International Decade for Action on water. World Water Day is celebrated on 22 March and inspires events across the world which draw attention to the need for “clean water for a healthy world” At the Blossom Nursery we teach our children that water is liquid gold and it should not be wasted. After we wash our hands, we close the tap immediately, we use the water play area wisely and never use the hose for water activities. Now that we are starting our Garden project we will use as much “recycled water” as possible and grow our flowers, herbs and veggies keeping in mind that water is the source of life, for plants, animals and human beings. We actively involve children in water saving activities by giving them the important job of being “tap-watch” for a day and during circle time we discuss what we can do that day to save water. On the 22 nd of March we will also focus on this very important event! IN THE BATHROOM: (almost two-thirds of home water use is for toilet flushing and bathing!) • DO fill the bath tub only halfway
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DO take shorter showers
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DO make sure your clothes washer is full before turning it on.
DON'T use the toilet as a waste basket. Throw trash in a trash basket and avoid flushing unnecessarily. • DON'T leave the water running when you brush your teeth or wash your hands or face. IN THE KITCHEN AND LAUNDRY: • DO make sure the dishwasher is full before turning it on. DO use a bowl of water to clean fruits and vegetables rather than running water over them. Reuse the water in the bowl to water your houseplants.