30th Annual New Hampshire Fourth Grade Water Science Fair and Poetry Winners Announced

KEENE, NH - Over 275 students from 14 different schools across New Hampshire gathered to learn about keeping water clean at this year’s New Hampshire 4th Grade Drinking Water Festival, State Science Fair and Poetry Contest on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Academic awards were presented to students who competed in the 4th Grade State Water Science Fair and the Water Poetry Contest.

4th Grade Water Science Fair:
Students from Gilsum, Harrisville, Keene, Manchester and Stoddard presented their science projects to panels of judges. Congratulations to:

• First Place: Ardyn Washburn, Harrisville, for the project “How Clean is Rainwater.”
• Second Place: Demi Dimos and Eve Turner, Manchester, for the project “Tsunamis.”
• Third Place: Ruthie Lawlor, Keene, for the project “Saguaro Cactus.”
• Fourth Place: Theo Martey and Quinn LaBranche, Manchester, for the project
• “Geothermal Heating.”
• Honorable Mention: Harper Quigley, Harrisville, for the project “How Different Liquids Affect
• Plants.”
• Honorable Mention: Gannon Lamoureux and Cooper Mullay, Stoddard, for the project “Comparing and Contrasting Beaver Dams and Human Dams.”    

3rd - 5th Grade Water Poetry Contest:

Students composed poems relating to the climate theme, “Water Rising.” Competition was fierce as 237 students submitted thought-provoking poems. Congratulations to:

• First Place: Miriam Talcott, Durham, for her poem “World Warming.”
• Second Place: Phineas Mitchell, North Hampton, for his poem “Our Earth.”
• Third Place: Maksim Knezevic, Durham, for his poem “The Blues of the Ocean.”
• Honorable Mention: Abigail McNamara, North Hampton, for her poem “Waters Ups and Downs.”
• Honorable Mention: Kylie Sullivan, Keene, for her poem “Water Rising.”

To read the poems, visit https://nhwaterfestival.org/poetry-contest/ or https://www.facebook.com/NHEnvironmentalServices. 

The NH Drinking Water Festival celebrates National Drinking Water Week. In addition to the awards recognizing academic excellence, students learned about the complexities of keeping water clean and managing it equitably in our changing climate. Students explored dozens of water topics and current issues including plastics, water conservation, watersheds, dams, macroinvertebrates and wastewater. Water experts from a broad range of nonprofit, higher education, and state and federal organizations shared their expertise with students through hands-on activities and live performances.

Also awarded at this event is the Best Tasting Water Award. Several municipal water supply systems compete for student votes to win this coveted award. This year, Concord Water Department was chosen by the students as having the best tasting water.

Through generous donations, all participating teachers won raffle awards of their choice of classroom science equipment, well water tests or gift basket prizes.

The annual event is sponsored by the New Hampshire Drinking Water Coalition in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to encourage future leaders and scientists to learn about one of the world’s most precious resources - water!
The water festival is generously supported by the following organizations:

Sponsors:
NH Water Well Association
Wright-Pierce
Underwood Engineers
Granite State Rural Water Association
EJP
Hawsco
RCAP Solutions
Smith Pump
B. Lewis Engineering
Eastern Analytical, Inc.
Statewide Aquastore, Inc.
Secondwind
NH Public Health Laboratory
Innovation Liquidation

Partner organizations:
City of Concord
City of Keene
City of Manchester
NH Department of Environmental Services
NH Water Works Association
Plymouth Village Water and Sewer District

For more information, contact Lara Hooper, NHDES Drinking Water & Groundwater Bureau at lara.hooper@des.nh.gov or (603) 271-4071 or visit https://nhwaterfestival.org.