Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Water-Wise Wednesdays with Frannie the Fish

By Jessica Wheeler, The Groundwater Foundation

Do you work with youth?  Is education your thing?  Although created with Girl Scouts in mind, the Water-Wise Wednesday blog features Frannie, The Groundwater Foundation's Girl Scout patch program's mascot, sharing fun, hands-on activities that can be utilized by anyone involved with youth education!  Check out this week's blog post below and tune in every Wednesday for more activities at groundh2o.blogspot.com!

-----------------------------------

It's Water-Wise Wednesday with Frannie the Fish {Ways to Protect and Conserve Groundwater - Reduce Chemical Use}


For the next ten weeks Frannie will be sharing The Groundwater Foundation's Top 10 List of Ways to Protect and Conserve Groundwater at home!  Each week will feature a step you can teach your troop to share with their families to become groundwater stewards!  The first week in this series is about reducing your chemical use.

In most homes you can find many chemicals, used for cleaning or taking care of the lawn.  Most of these chemicals are removed from water by waste treatment facilities before the water is returned to rivers, streams, and lakes, but certain chemicals found in cleaners and other household chemicals - like ammonia, phosphorus, and nitrogen - are not removed by the treatment process.  That means when cleaning products are rinsed down the drain or flushed down the toilet, they are getting into our surface water and affecting fish like Frannie!




Many of these products can be replaced with simple, environmentally-friendly options that you can buy in the store or make yourself!  Follow this easy recipe with Frannie to make your own cleaners!

Here's what you'll need:
  • A spray bottle for each Girl Scout
  • Funnel
  • Large stickers
  • Decorative stickers
  • Small measuring cups
  • Water 
  • Vinegar
  • Dish Soap
  • Baking Soda
  • Optional - essential oil (orange and lemon are great for cleaners!)

Here's what you do:

1.   Have the Girl Scouts write the following recipe and directions on their sticker for future use:
     - 1 teaspoon baking soda
     - 1/2 teaspoon dish soap
     - 2 tablespoons vinegar
     Shake well!



2.  Allow the girls to decorate their bottles with stickers.



3.  Use the funnel to add the baking soda, dish soap, and vinegar to your spray bottle.  Shake the ingredients in the bottle. 



4.  Let it sit for a minute and fill the bottle with warm water and shake it up.

5Optional - add one to two drops of essential oil to the spray bottle mixture to give it a more pleasant scent.

6.  Replace the cap, shake, and enjoy!



Share pictures of your Girl Scouts creating their own environmentally-friendly cleaners!

-----------------------------------

Tune in weekly for fun activities with Frannie at groundh2o.blogspot.com!  Click here to learn more about The Groundwater Foundation's Girl Scout patch program.

No comments: