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Fourth-grade students from around Pike County visited the Troy Campus Wednesday morning for the 19th annual Groundwater Festival.

According to Janet Gatson, a lecturer in the university’s Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, the day is all about environmental education.

“We are trying to teach children to be mindful and aware,” Gaston said. “There is only a certain percentage of water that is drinkable, so we have to conserve and preserve that.”

Activities for the students are all hands-on, fun ways to learn about the water supply.

They include an edible aquifer, a water bracelet to teach about the water cycle, as well as a “drop in the bucket” exercise to show students the small percentage of water available to us.  Animals from the biology department were on hand for students to interact with as well.

The day is sponsored by Legacy, Alabama PALS, Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority, City of Troy, City of Brundidge, and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.