Greenville Students Know How to “Be Freshwater Friendly”

GREENVILLE, SC – March 24, 2014 – Renewable Water Resources (ReWa) partnered with Greenville Renewable Energy Education (GREEN) Charter School to hold a Be Freshwater Friendly essay contest for fifth and sixth grade students.

ReWa’s Be Freshwater Friendly campaign aims to educate the Upstate on how small changes to people’s day-to-day actions can have a great impact on the local environment and aquatic resources. The mission of the campaign is similar to GREEN Charter School’s goal to develop an understanding of environmental sustainability, renewable energy and technology to enhance students’ achievements, which inspired the partnership between the two organizations.

Ashley Rhinehart, public relations coordinator at ReWa, visited the school earlier this month and gave a presentation on how to Be Freshwater Friendly. Students were then given the exciting opportunity to research more ideas of their own and write essays. The staff and students at GREEN Charter School have been a pleasure to work with. I look forward to this new partnership and the projects that are in the works for the future, said Rhinehart. 

The judges were very impressed by the originality and creativity of the students. The fifth grade winner, Jenny Zhang, and the sixth grade winner, Joseph Fernandez, were presented with prize packs that included movie tickets, Greenville County Recreation waterpark tickets and much more.

 After an exciting presentation from ReWa, students learned about the Agency’s efforts to keep our water fresh. Students were delighted to have the opportunity to participate in this year’s ReWa essay contest and connect being Freshwater Friendly to their own lives, said Andrea Reid, fifth grade teacher at GREEN Charter School.

Renewable Water Resources (ReWa)
ReWa’s goal is to promote a cleaner environment, and to protect the public health and water quality of the Upstate waterways, while providing and developing the necessary sewer infrastructure for the growing economy. ReWa serves more than 400,000 industrial, commercial and residential customers in Greenville County and parts of Anderson, Spartanburg, Pickens and Laurens Counties.