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Hunt School Wins 2009
Texas Rain Catcher Award |
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The Hunt school,
in conjunction
with the Hunt
Garden Club and
community members,
installed a
rainwater
harvesting system
(with a 20,000
gallon storage
tank) in 2009 at
the school
Discovery Garden.
One of the things
that was unique
with this project
is that the
project became
part of the school
curriculum and the
students were
involved in all
aspects of the
system design. It
was a very
exciting practical
learning
experience for the
students. |
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Water is a finite
resource that
requires careful
and proactive
management. In
late 2007, the
Texas Water
Development Board
(TWDB)
established an annual
Texas Rain Catcher
Award, which is "a
rainwater harvesting
competition and
recognition program to
promote the technology,
educate the public, and
to recognize excellence
in the application of
rainwater harvesting
systems in Texas." The
winning entries are
posted on the TWDB
website for at least a
year and published in
their spring newsletter.
The winners are also
invited to Austin to
receive their award at
the TWDB board meeting,
and a reception is held
for them after the
ceremony. |
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Fifth and sixth
graders from Hunt
School, in Hunt, Texas
traveled to Austin to
claim their award |
The competition is
open to all
individuals,
companies,
organizations,
municipalities and
local and state
governmental
entities. In 2009,
the TWDB replaced the single
award system with three
award categories:
residential, commercial
/ industrial, and
education / government,
with the right to
establish additional
categories in the
future. There is no time
limit on when the system
was installed and when
the application can be
made; but, an entity can
only win once.
The submission
should 1)
demonstrate how
the rainwater
harvesting system
has helped
conserve surface
water and / or
groundwater
through reduced
dependency on
conventional water
supply systems; 2)
demonstrate how
the rainwater
harvesting system
has saved money
for the owner; 3)
demonstrate how
the system has
benefited the
environment
without itself
adversely
impacting the
environment; 4)
display
originality and
innovation , or an
innovative mix of
existing and new
knowledge; and 5)
explain the
uniqueness of the
system. |
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The project team
applied for the 2009 Texas Rain Catcher Award in the
education/government category and on February 2, 2010 was
notified that they won the award!
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On February 17th,
the Hunt school
5th and 6th
graders, teachers
Kate Caraway and
Joseph Hennigan, Principal
Adrienne Grubb, several
parents and members of
the project team
traveled to Austin to
receive their award at
the monthly Texas Water
Development Board (TWDB)
meeting. After receiving
the award and having
their picture taken with
the TWDB, the Rain Team
of the TWDB held a
reception for all the
2009 Rain Catcher award
winners, giving the
winners the opportunity
to discuss their
projects. |
The children are
now part of a
select group of
people in the
state and
hopefully will
become our future
leaders in
rainwater
harvesting. At a
minimum, the
experience will be
something that
they will remember
for many years to
come. Linda
McCall, the TWDB’s
Education Specialist,
said there has been a
lot of research that
indicates children learn
so much from “service”
projects like this one,
especially in the area
of problem solving. They
hope to use the Hunt
School Rainwater
Harvesting Project as an
example to other
education focused
organizations, seminars,
and workshops.
Submitted by Bernadell
Larson, HCMG |
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