Twenty-four grants and nearly $15,000 awarded to local educators

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Western’s 2013 Lois B. Krieger Water Project Grants for Educators have been awarded, and 24 teachers from throughout western Riverside County will now have the resources they need to keep water education in the classroom. These grants are an important part of water education as most of the classroom projects would not be possible without the grants, which range from $360 to a maximum of $700.

This year, Western received a record number of entries and awarded as many projects as possible, spanning from Temecula up to Jurupa Valley and from kindergarten through twelfth-grade. While projects from new applicants are always submitted, there are also several teachers who year-after-year make water education a priority and apply for the Krieger Grant program.

“The commitment from these teachers who inspire their students to learn more about water is truly what the Krieger Project Grants are about,” shared the members of Western’s Community and Government Affairs Committee, Directors Brenda Dennstedt and S.R. “Al” Lopez. “For the majority of these teachers, they wouldn’t be able to conduct their water lessons without the funding.”

Grant recipient, Christopher Spencer’s Santiago High School students will select a California waterway and study its care and maintenance. Meanwhile, students will spend time in the school marine lab to learn how to test water, maintain water quality and treat water so that life can exist. Through the project’s process, students will better understand water as a resource, in addition to its political and social aspects.

Students from Amy Sanchez’s kindergarten class, at VanderMolen Elementary School, will be studying how water helped form different topography on earth, in addition to how it has contributed to plant and animal life in different areas and eras. By using topography maps and books, combined with a field trip to the Jurupa Valley Cultural Center, her students will better understand the importance of water at an early age.

Western’s grant program is named in honor of Lois B. Krieger, who served on Western’s Board of Directors for 25 years and was also the first female chairperson for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. She is a true pioneer in the water industry, and her contributions to the water field continue to inspire teachers and students throughout Riverside County and beyond.

2013 Lois B. Krieger Water Project Grant Recipients

Danielle Salcido, Arlington HS, Riverside The Power of Water
Araceli Anguiano, Corona HS, Corona Human Sources of Water Pollution
Carrie Burdick-Rutz, Great Oak HS, Temecula Drips and Drops for Each Seed
Diane DeVasier, Elsinore HS, Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore Water Monitoring Project
Anna Foutz, North HS, Riverside Porosity and Permeability
Glenda Haas, Railroad Canyon ES, Lake Elsinore Watering our World
Cathleen Hansen, Thompson MS, Murrieta How Clean is Our Stream
Sheri Harris, Arlington HS, Riverside Waste Not, Want Not
Tara Hightower, Earhart MS, Riverside Physical Changes of Water
Judith Howell, Thompson MS, Murrieta How Clean is Our Stream
Gabriela Luebeck, Thompson MS, Murrieta How Clean is Our Stream
David Marrett, Murrieta Valley HS, Murrieta Native Plant Nursery
Kelly Maxey, Crowne Hill ES, Corona Hydroponic Garden
Jacqueline McIntosh, Gage MS, Riverside Investigating Water
Stephen Oster, Arlington HS, Riverside Water Purity in Our Local Environment
Kelley Remington, Temescal Valley ES, Corona Learning About Water and Conservation
Glenda Rhea, Elsinore ES, Lake Elsinore Water Changes Lives
Aleta Rodriguez, Earhart MS, Riverside Interactive Stream Table
Carlo Rozzi, Earhart MS, Riverside Effects of Water Topography
Amy Sanchez, VanderMolen ES, Mira Loma It's a Wet, Wet World
Chris Scolinos, Thompson MS, Murrieta Water & Ancient Egypt
Christopher Spencer, Santiago HS, Corona California's Water
Laurie Tate, Elsinore MS, Temecula Draining Downward
Nancy Windus, Temecula MS, Temecula Thirsty Plants

Western Municipal Water District provides water supply, wastewater disposal and water resource management to the public in a safe, reliable, environmentally sensitive and financially responsible manner.