The Sink or Swim Project

I want you to think of a body of water that’s close to where you live. It might be a lake or a pond, a river, a canal or even the ocean. While you think of an answer I want you to consider that 71% of our planet is comprised of water and of that figure nearly 97% of earth’s water is in our oceans. Water is, to say the least, very important to life here on earth.

Now, as you picture that special place I want you to ask yourself if you know anything about the quality of that water? Is it safe for drinking? Can you swim in it? Can marine organisms live there or other creatures use it to drink and eat?

You probably aren’t quite sure but there is an easy way to find answers, while also helping to study and protect our planet’s water and its called the EarthEcho Water Challenge. Here’s world renowned explorer Philippe Cousteau and me explaining a bit about World Water Day:

EarthEcho International, a non-profit organization founded by Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau in honor of their grandfather, famed environmentalist Jacques Cousteau, and that I proudly serve as a Youth Leadership Council (YLC) member for, has created the EarthEcho Water Challenge. By participating in the challenge you get to collect data and help perform all sorts of cool science while also bringing awareness to the importance of protecting earth’s water.

This year, EarthEcho International and its YLC have created a new program: EarthEcho Water Challenge Ambassadors. Anyone from ages 13 to 22 can apply to become an ambassador and in doing so, receive an EarthEcho Water Challenge kit that will guide you you through all of the steps including testing the pH, dissolved oxygen content, turbidity and temperature of your local waterways and then report your monthly data for use in the Challenge’s Annual Report. You will also be responsible for putting together an event on or around September 18th, World Water Monitoring Day, where you can showcase your work.

Once you have been accepted and receive your water quality kit, the rest is easy and includes three steps:

1. Test: Use your water quality kit to test the water.
2. Share: Once you’ve tested the water, you then enter your data online to our international database and share your story and photos on social media using @MonitorWater #MonitorWater. By doing so, you join a network of nearly 1,500,000 citizens from 143 countries all over the world and become part of the solution for clean water and healthy waterways worldwide.
3. Protect: Once you’ve entered your own data you can use it and the resources on our site to educate others in your community about how they can join you in protecting our planet’s water resources.

We encourage you to learn more and apply by visiting www.monitorwater.org/ambassadors.