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.

How Water Writes Us: Stitching Memory & Connection to Place by Jacintha Antonio

Purpose and Guiding Question How Water Writes Us: Stitching Memory and Connection to Place is a place-based, multimodal storytelling project designed for Grade 7 and 8 Home Economics learners at École Waterford Springs School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Most learners in these classrooms identify as Filipino or Indian and are newcomers to Canada. This project invites them to reflect on their own and others’ cultural relationships to water. That is, how it connects, sustains, and ca

2 min read

Aquaculture's Ability to Create Authentic Learning Experiences by Ethan Lee

Essential Question How can the introduction of aquaculture into the classroom environment create unique and authentic learning opportunities? About the Project It was only after finding out that students in my school were skipping class to go fishing at the local river that I realized that there was an opportunity to create meaningful learning opportunities going unnoticed. This project, inspired by those students and the efforts of the Nelson River Sturgeon Board, expands up

2 min read

Trapped Water In Local Contexts by Janice Tien

Purpose Statement In a fast-paced world, people often turn to bottled water and drinks as a source of convenience. However, when bottles are thrown into the trash before its contents are dumped out, it becomes trapped water. That water will now stay in there for centuries until its plastic container eventually decomposes. This project aims to create awareness surrounding responsible bottled drink disposal and around the impact of trapped water on the environment and the natur

2 min read

Students As Wake Makers by Bradyn Lederer

Essential Question How can understanding the history, present issues, and questioning what the future holds for the rivers and the water systems in Manitoba encourage students to become change makers? Project Summary This project invites students to build a relationship with the land and water around them in their community and beyond. Further, students will discover the historical and the relational significance water in Manitoba has for all groups of people. Students will d

2 min read

Beads For Change by Rachel Fisher

Essential question: How does our water usage affect the environment? Participants: Grade 5 students living in Southern Manitoba. Place/ Context: The project is written in the context of Southern Manitoba, due to the inquiry and research based on local water issues. Project Goals: The goal of this project is to inform students of how their water usage affects their environment. They will build not only their research, inquiry and writing skills, but also develop their roles as

2 min read

Rain To Roots by Jessica Schneider

Essential question How can collecting and reusing rainwater through homemade barrels help us conserve water and grow a thriving garden while inspiring others to care for the environment? About this project My Ripple Effects Place Project centers on empowering students from preschool through grade 12 to take ecological action through rain barrel construction and garden rejuvenation. Beginning with first-grade students and supported by high school mentors, the project transform

2 min read

The Language of Water: A Multi-Modal Water Inquiry by Jared Suderman

A Multimodal Water Inquiry This inquiry project is a cross-grade collaboration between a Grade 12 Global Issues class at J.H. Bruns Collegiate and a younger classroom from Niakwa Place School, both located in the Louis Riel School Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Students from diverse linguistic, cultural, and national backgrounds will come together to explore water in their immediate environment and in global contexts—from the nearby Seine River to the waters that connect the

1 min read

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

Is Water Just Water? by Cori-Lee Valois

Essential Question How can we rebuild our relationship with water to honour its life-giving role, respect its cultural significance and ensure its protection for future generations? Problem The water problem at the heart of this project is the growing disconnect between people and water. In particular in urban settings, water is often viewed only as a utility and a resource. People see water as something to be used, consumed and as a result it is often taken for granted. Wate

3 min read

Little Drops, Big Impact: A School Water Garden Initiative by Simone Drummond

Purpose How can kids help tackle real environmental problems while learning from the land and each other? This project invites students to become active stewards of water and nature: building resilience, curiosity, and community in the process. About This Project What We are Doing Little Drops, Big Impact is more than a school project, it’s a hands-on learning journey. Students in Grades 2 to 5 at Wanipigow School are designing and planting a 300m² rain garden right on their

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

2 min read

The Silent Rivers: Water Pollution in Iran (Karoon River) and the Ripple of Loss by Parastoo Yousefi

Purpose Statement and Essential Questions This project explores how middle school students in Khuzestan, Iran can use writing as a form of environmental witnessing, cultural remembering, and community activism in response to the severe pollution of the Karoon River. It asks: How can writing become a way for students to engage with environmental injustice in their place? How do cultural memory, place-based storytelling, and intergenerational dialogue shape students’ identities

2 min read

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

Water Walk by Michael Saj

Project Summary This project uses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a starting point. Looking at updating the UDHR for the 21 Century in this process, the concept of clean, drinkable water as a human right will be introduced. Embracing the idea of “Think Globally and Act Locally” the class will go on a water walk downtown to see what sources of water are available to the citizens of Winnipeg. Students will be encouraged to take photos of what they see as it relates

1 min read

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