This April, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District and Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR) Girls Inc. of Greater Madison came together to celebrate World Water Day and Earth Day with a week-long educational initiative. More than 315 young leaders across Madison took part in a conversation about the future of water and the importance of having a voice in shaping it.
FROM GLOBAL IDEAS TO LOCAL IMPACT
Pollution Prevention Intern Camila Pulex turned a global concept into a hands-on learning experience for local students. Drawing on United Nations resources, Camila adapted materials and developed a lesson that helped students explore and reflect on the importance of water, both globally and in their everyday lives.
During the lesson, students explored their connections to water and created collages from recycled materials to show what water means to them. Over 500 magazines were donated, many by District staff, giving students plenty of ways to be creative and bring their ideas to life.
In addition to developing the lesson plan, Camila worked with Girls Inc. staff, training program leaders to implement and facilitate the lesson and ensuring the content was not only informative but also interactive, creative and empowering.
CREATIVITY FLOWS, AND LEADERSHIP GROWS
Through this partnership, students explored the 2026 United Nations World Water Day theme, “Water and Gender,” connecting environmental issues with equity and leadership. Across 21 after-school sites, participants worked with the Pollution Prevention team to learn about where water goes and how the global water crisis affects everyone, but not always equally.
As Leslie Smith, MSCR Girls Inc. Coordinator, shared, “To bring these complex global issues to life, participants are creating water collages using recycled materials. These artistic works serve as a visual representation of what water and water equality mean to them, highlighting the need for a transformative, rights-based approach to the water crisis.”
Artwork created through these programs reflected personal interpretations of water, equity and community. “By ensuring women and girls have an equal seat at the table in water governance, we aren’t just building better infrastructure, we’re fueling a healthier, more prosperous and gender-equal future that empowers our entire community,” noted Catherine Harris, Pollution Prevention Specialist.
INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF WATER LEADERS
Supported by Girls Inc. of Greater Madison, this effort goes beyond awareness. It challenges young girls to see themselves as future leaders, innovators and advocates for water equity while also highlighting the impact that emerging professionals, like Camila, and the next generation can have in connecting global ideas to local action.
Thanks to this partnership and Camila’s leadership, both students and MSCR leaders gained a deeper understanding of where our water goes, why it matters and the critical role of wastewater treatment in protecting public health and the environment. Through this project, participants saw how each of us can play a role in protecting and conserving this essential resource, underscoring that we all need water, we have the power to speak up and we can take action to make a difference in our communities.
