Ripple Effects Projects

2025 Summer Writing Institute participants were invited to create their own Ripple Effects Place Projects by identifying an aspect of water (in)justice that was significant to their communities to become the focus of an inquiry. These projects all include the three key elements of a Ripple Effects project: photography, writing, and publication or circulation. We offer glimpses into these projects here as inspirational launching points for educators to imagine ways of engaging with inquiries about water in their own schools and communities.

Understanding Water Insecurity and Infrastructure Inequality by Kelly Rapke

Purpose Statement / Essential Question How do we confront the injustice of unequal water access in Canada, and what does it mean to grow up in a place where clean water is a given, while others still wait for it? This project invites students to look closely at something many of us take for granted: clean, safe, running water. We begin by asking why some communities in Canada still don’t have it, and how those decisions were made and continue to be made. What does it say abou

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Water Justice by Jaime Zulyniak

Project Purpose To help my Grade 4 students develop a meaningful understanding of water justice, this project will guide them through a variety of learning experiences such as hands-on, writing and photography. This project will last a full school year and integrate throughout many different subject areas. Project Summary We will begin with basic lessons about water—what it is, where it comes from, and how it moves through our environment. Students will explore their personal

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Water for Everyone? by Melanie Beresford

Purpose and Problem The purpose of this Ripple Effects Project is to engage children in a rich dialogue and learning environment to help them gain a greater understanding of the impact of water in their everyday lives (drinking, eating, cooking, cleaning, etc.) and the ways water has shaped their identities (memories, leisure, sports, holidays, spiritually, etc.). The problem and focus of this project are to create a deep understanding of the history of Winnipeg’s water syste

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Water Is My Home by Nicole Rodier

We often take our access to water for granted. We’ve become accustomed to the privilege of turning the tap and knowing clean, safe drinking water will flow out. However, due to natural disasters and climate change, people are being forced to leave their homes and relocate, taking with them their current relationship with water. This project can be adapted to all grade levels but was designed with Middle School students in mind. The main goal of this project is to build an und

2 min read

Water Stories: Comparing Canada and Dubai Through Built and Natural Waters by Fatima Moosavi

Comparing Canada and Dubai Through Built and Natural Waters Essential Question How do water systems, natural and built, shape our relationship with water in different parts of the world? About This Project This project invites middle school students in Canada to explore water as both a vital resource and an unequal one by comparing their local natural water systems with the built water systems of Dubai. Through field trips, virtual exchanges, creative writing, and multimodal

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Ripple Effects: From Shoal Lake's Story to Our Own by Ian Lindal

Purpose This unit engages students in critical examination of water equity issues through the lens of the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation water crisis and Winnipeg Aqueduct, empowering them to become informed citizens and active agents of change around water justice and Indigenous rights. Students will consider the essential question: How do we value/devalue our water? About This Project Participants: Grade 10/11 ELA/Geography/History students in Manitoba Context: This unit examin

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Living Water / Living Justice: Intergenerational Memory and Water in Winnipeg by Jacob Carson

This interdisciplinary, multimodal place-based unit for a Grade 12 Global Issues (40S) &/or ELA 40S class invites students to explore the politics of water in Winnipeg by engaging with histories of colonization, memory, infrastructure, and Indigenous resistance. Students will move between walking-based inquiry, reflective and research-based writing, photography, mapping, and collaborative curation. Drawing from Adele Perry’s Aqueduct, the unit places water justice at the cent

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Rethinking Water Conservation by Marjan Amrollahipourshirazi

This Ripple Effects Place Project invites Grades 4–6 students across Winnipeg to explore the deeper stories and responsibilities behind their everyday water use. While Winnipeg residents enjoy clean tap water piped from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, many are unaware that this water comes through a colonial aqueduct system that has long denied Shoal Lake residents’ equal access to safe water. This project helps students see that water is not just a utility, but a relationship, o

2 min read

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