The town of Clarkdale is helping to fund a program that aims to teach children the importance of water, an especially valuable commodity here in the desert.
The Verde Natural Resource Conservation District was established in 1941 to help people in the Verde Valley make the best use of the land and resources they had.
The town is helping fund a program organized by the district called “Children Conserve.”
It shows children in grades K-8 how important the water they use is and where it comes from.
The program in Clarkdale focuses on students at Clarkdale-Jerome School.
The program involves children around the Verde Valley but the money from Clarkdale will fund local students with Clarkdale-specific field trips.
The town initially funded the program in 2013 for a two-year period. The new funding will last another two years.
The program reaches around 300 students at Clarkdale-Jerome School.
“They learn where water comes from and how it comes into houses,” said Ellen Yates, an administrative supervisor with the town’s public works department.
The program is split up into two distinct groups.
The first teaches the basics to students in grades K-4.
Students in grades 5-8 expanded on what the younger students are taught.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, July 8, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
