Expedition: Water by Design

Provided by: EarthEcho International |Published on: March 10, 2025

Lesson Plans

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Synopsis

In this four-chapter student-facing course by EarthEcho International, students will learn about how California communities conserve water, manage water resources, and apply new water solutions.
Students will explore water management, youth action, and snowpack in Los Angeles County and La Habra, California, as well as wastewater treatment in Orange County and native species gardens in Southern California.
Students will also learn about desalination in Redondo Beach, aquaponics in Brea, and an irrigation project in Inglewood.

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Subjects: Biology, Geography, Engineering

Authors: EarthEcho International

Region: California

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

The STEM Career Closeups are inspirational, and it is moving to hear people speak passionately about their work.
Additionally, the stories of youth working to make real changes in their communities may empower students to do the same and make them hopeful for the future.

Prerequisites

If doing the Design Your Own Aquifer activity in Chapter 2 and the Desalination Demonstration in Chapter 3 as a class, teachers will need many ingredients and should review the steps and ingredients list in the section.
It may benefit students to have some background knowledge about the prevalence of droughts in California and the importance of conserving water.

Differentiation & Implementation

After learning about albedo and the importance of snowpack, students can discuss how these factors are impacted by climate change. Students can also discuss feedback loops, how climate change will worsen droughts, and possible solutions to the problem.
To encourage vocabulary retention, teachers can have students write sentences or paragraphs that include the key terms listed on the Engineering Solutions page.
In the STEM Career Closeups and throughout the rest of the sections, students will be exposed to a variety of careers. After completing the module, students can select one of the careers mentioned and research the steps to get there and other aspects of the career.
Teachers can use this in a flipped classroom model by having students read and watch the materials as homework and completing discussions and hands-on models in class.
Chapter 3 briefly references the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Students may want to learn more about this and other instances of environmental injustice. Teachers can use the Defining Environmental Justice lesson to explore this topic.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

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Resource Type and Format

About the Partner Provider

EarthEcho International

EarthEcho International envisions a world where every individual has the opportunity and tools to create a healthy and thriving environment. To that end, their mission is to build a global youth movement to protect and restore our ocean planet. Their Academy is a new virtual learning space developed to provide online courses for teacher professional learning with access to fully remote, asynchronous environmental education modules for students.

Scientist Reviewed

This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.

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Expedition: Water by Design

Synopsis

Teaching Materials

About the Partner Provider

Scientist Reviewed

Related Teaching Resources