5/6/2015 Fernanda Maciel
Written by Fernanda Maciel
By Fernanda Maciel
On April 10, 2015, the International Water Resources Association Student Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign held the second annual Illinois Water Day (IWD). Inspired by the United Nations’ World Water Day, IWD aims to raise public awareness regarding freshwater resources challenges, as well as to address local water-related issues.
IWD 2015 was organized as a Let’s Talk About Water (LTAW) event. This program, supported by Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, promotes using films for earth science education. Considering the importance of agriculture in the Midwest and its impacts on freshwater resources, the group selected to screen the documentary “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret,” which explores the detrimental impacts of animal agriculture on the environment and criticizes the policies and perspectives of environmental organizations on this issue.
A panel discussion followed the screening of the documentary, with four local experts participating: Stacy James, a water resources scientist from local green organization Prairie Rivers Network; Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Wesley Jarrell, an expert in sustainable agriculture and co-owner of Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery LLC; CEE at Illinois assistant professor Megan Konar, an expert in the intersection of water, food, and trade; and Teresa Steckler, an extension specialist and educator for commercial agriculture at the University of Illinois. The moderator was Linda Lilienfield, who is the creator and project coordinator of LTAW.
With approximately 100 participants, IWD closed with a poster session focused on the theme of Water and Sustainability, where scientists, researchers, students, companies, local non-profits and concerned individuals discussed, shared, taught and learned about water.