Every living thing in life people, plants, and animals depends on water to grow, stay healthy, and survive. Clean water keeps our bodies strong, helps grow the food we eat, and protects our environment. Without it, life as we know it wouldn’t exist. Because we rely so much on water we have to protect our water because water is limited there is not a unlimited supply.

CHQ Kids Care is proud to partner with the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy to help students become real environmental leaders in our community. Together, we are building an interactive watershed model that CWC will use at community events to teach families how water moves across the land and how our everyday actions impact the health of our lakes, streams, and wildlife.

Through this partnership, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy also generously donated materials to support two student-led projects designed to protect and celebrate our local waters.

Paint the Lake
Students will raise awareness to our watershed through the creation of Rain Barrels.  They will assemble and paint rain barrels to be used by business in our community.  The artwork on the barrels will help tell the story of why clean water matters and help educate the community on small ways they can help the lake. This project combines art, science, and environmental stewardship, giving students a creative way to advocate for a healthy watershed. 

Adopt-a-Drain
In this hands-on service project, the community will get involved and understand how to care for local storm drains. Many people don’t realize that storm drains flow directly into nearby lakes and streams without being filtered or treated. By “adopting” a drain, the community become guardians of the watershed, helping prevent pollution before it ever reaches the lake. Details about both projects will be coming soon on our events page. 

Through these experiences, CHQ Kids Care students are learning that even small actions can make a big difference. By combining science, creativity, and community service, they are helping protect the waters that make our region so special.

Thank you Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, because of you our students aren’t just learning about the environment they are actively helping to protect it.

Even young voices can make a big difference for our environment. 3rd graders recently completed a hands-on learning project called “We Make Our Lakes Great,” where they explored the incredible ecosystems of the Great Lakes and the plants and animals that depend on them.

Throughout the project, students became young environmental researchers. They investigated different species that live in and around the Great Lakes, learning about their habitats, food sources, life cycles, and the important roles they play in keeping our freshwater ecosystems healthy. The project encouraged students to think like scientists, environmental stewards, and communicators. After completing their research, creating digital interactive maps, and building a prop for their broadcast, each student transformed their learning into a news-style report as their capstone project:The Great Lakes News Network - GLNN

Click the image to see how these young reporters are sharing their knowledge in hopes to inspire action. Young powerful voices are learning how to protect our water and how together, we can all help make our lakes great. 

Join our host Hadley and Alexis as we learn all about the importance of protecting our water. Each week they will be joined by our 5th Grade students to discuss a new topic helping you to stay curious, stay caring and making a changes Drop by Drop. 

Available Episodes:  

Episode 2: How water connects us all. Learn and Laugh with some fun facts and water jokes.

Episode 1: Our Lake. Our Life. 

Intro Episode: Who are we and why it matters.

Coming soon!

Power of the Sun

Join students as they explore our watersheds. Learn about Chautauqua Lake and Lake Erie and stay tuned for how students solve our watershed problems.  

Our Ultimate Goal is to inspire and empower the next generation of Changemakers! Students who use science, creativity, and teamwork to protect our waters, care for our community and take action for a better world.

What we do affects everyone in our communities and downstream. As part of the Watershed Warriors Project students completed posters highlighting what the watersheds mean to them. Click on the image to check out the Campaign highlights.

This work is now part of a collaboration with NYSAWWA’s One Water Workforce (OWW) initiative, which is designed to build sustainable pathways into water careers while inspiring young people to see the value of water in everyday life. By partnering with OWW, CHQ Kids Care is helping connect youth directly to water issues in creative, meaningful ways.