CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — With help from local organizations and businesses, St. Anne’s-Belfield fifth grade students recently got a hands-on look at the importance of clean water and how to conserve it, as well as where their food comes from.

The interdisciplinary unit, connecting both science and social studies, included a field trip to Deep Rock Farm, a regenerative agriculture grass-fed beef farm in White Hall. Students also heard from Nancy Hopkins, executive director of Waterboys, an initiative of the Chris Long Foundation that funds the installment of sustainable well in water-stressed communities.

The idea for the unit began when Deep Rock’s owner, Calder Kegley, reached out to STAB fifth grade teacher Jeff Schwalm about organizing a trip out to the farm.

“That had been kind of sitting in the back of my mind,” Schwalm told Cville Right Now. “It was like, ‘Well, how can we kind of incorporate this into our curriculum this year?’ So, we started looking.”

Working with social studies teacher Caitlin Thomson, Schwalm began crafting the unit, eventually reaching out to the Waterboys as he believed the local organization would be “a perfect partnership.” The teachers also reached out to the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority to schedule another field trip for the kids so they could see where their water came from.

“It was kind of fun doing some background work on this and finding these different connections we have [around] here,” Schwalm said. “And even within our St. Anne’s community. We had … a student of mine’s parent actually worked with the Waterboys and went on their hike over in Africa to hike [Mount] Kilimanjaro, so we were able to get him to speak to the kids as well.

“So, it was like all these awesome, natural connections that we found locally.”

The result was an interactive, hands-on unit that let students make lasting memories all while learning more about important topics like where water comes from, and how many struggle without easy access to it.

Student Josie Cohoon told Cville Right Now she was particularly surprised by the stories told by Hopkins during her visit, specifically remembering a story of how the Waterboys helped install a well near a school.

“That was cool,” she said.

Hopkins told Cville Right Now it’s common for her to speak with school kids as part of her work with the Waterboys. She said the kids she talked to at STAB were “sitting on their hands” during the presentation, already ready to ask questions. That morning, the kids had walked around the classroom looking at photos and writing down their observations about water security in the United State and around the world.

“They’d already had their wheels turning,” she said. “So, by the time they got to our specific example of Kenya, they were full of questions, like ‘So where do people get water if they don’t have access to a well or to water in their house? How far do they have to walk? What do they do if it’s dirty?’ All these specific questions.”

The kids also participated in an activity later that afternoon, carrying buckets of water to know what it’s like to have to transport water like many have to do every day.

At Deep Rock, kids were able to learn about where their food comes from. Kegley told Cville Right Now he’s been organizing similar trips with other schools and organizations for the past four years now, helping teach kids about the farm ecosystem. Given it was Kegley who helped provide the inspiration for the program, it was his trip that helped tie it all together.

“I think it was Jeff [who] called me the day after and said, ‘Man,’ he said. ‘You have no idea how much impact you had on these kids, not just from the water. It really tied this whole program together,'” Kegley said.

The result was a program that students walked away from with not only valuable knowledge, but lasting memory to help make sure that knowledge sticks.

“I think it will stick more in my memory,” student Caleb Rubin told Cville Right Now. “Because we went on field trip, and we had fun activities and did more stuff about water instead of just sitting in a classroom learning about it.