The knowledge I got from Earth Camp about water was "the drop in the bucket". That means that 71% of Earth is covered with water and 97% is salt water. And 80% of the fresh water is frozen in the ice caps and only 0.6% is available water. So out of all the water in the world, only 0.003% of water is drinkable. Another thing I learned about water was that the Tohono O’odham people and other tribes lived down next to the water so it could be closer to them and use it to water plants and for drinking water. We also went to a Waste Water Treatment Plant and learned about the different steps the wastewater goes through until it is good enough to drink. After the water is semi-clean, it is dumped into the Santa Cruz River so it can go down into the aquifer or is used by farmers in Marana. Lastly, I learned all about watersheds which lead into rivers and eventually goes into the sea.

 

What I am going to do to be a better leader for a shared planet is to use gray water to water plants instead of drinking water. A way I will do that is to connect a pipe that goes from the washer to plants, trees or lawn. I will also get a washing machine that uses less water to wash clothes and use liquid detergent instead of powder detergent. Another way to conserve water is by letting neighbors use the same washing machine, which will capture more water. I will also connect my shower to the garden or lawn and use that water to water those same things. If you are one of those people that waits until the water warms up, then you should get a bucket and capture all that water before it goes down the drain. Since I have experienced all of these things from Brad Lancaster, I know this is very accurate. That is what I will do to be a better leader for a shared planet.

Ever wondered where your water is being flushed to or water you use goes to? Well thanks to Earth Camp, they (unfortunately) showed where it all goes to. We visited the Roger Road Waste Water Treatment Plant, which was the place were all the wastewater goes to after being flushed down the toilet or used. The scientific name for the poop and pee are bio solids and bio liquids. We also learned where all the bio solids (poop) go to after it is removed from the bio liquids (pee). It all goes to the landfill. After it was all cleaned, it is dumped into the Santa Cruz River so farmers can use it in Marana. It is also either evaporating or going down into the aquifer. Cool stuff, Huh? 

Mt. Lemmon was one of the best camping trips throughout the two weeks of Earth Camp. We did so many exciting things such as going hiking and go up to a fire lookout house which is a house that is at a cliff of a mountain and looks for a fire breakout. At Bear Canyon we got to take core samples of different trees. We can find out how old it is and the history of the tree such as if there was a fire or another tree hit or leaned against it.We also went to Marshall Gulch and measured the flow of the river and many different other things. Our parents came up to the campsite and told them about the things we have been learning ad got to meet some of the other camper's parents. There was also this storyteller which told many different stories from different tribes such as the 4 Hunters and the 4 Seasons. We played some really cool games also like Hug a tree and pine cone wars. I had so much fun at Mt. Lemmon.