Water. People in first-world countries take it for granted. However, many people around the world do not have the same privilege and must walk miles just to get clean water. The biology and world cultures classes will collaborate starting in early May to understand and find a way to overcome this global issue.

“We will look at the issue of water scarcity and how economic, political and cultural circumstances have an effect on the lives of people in terms of the issue of water,”  world cultures teacher Janine Sohn said.

The project will start first with the world cultures aspect and then move to the science portion.

“In my classes we’re going to look at places that have water scarcity and how that affects the lives of those people,” Sohn said.

Beyond looking at social impacts, the project will touch on other important topics, such as economic issues, development issues, and social justice, Sohn said.

“The project will bring up a lot of issues that we are learning about in the class, like gender,” Sohn said. “It’s mostly women who get the water around the world.”

Science teacher Shelley Seto-Rosen said that the science portion of the project will incorporate ecology and water cycling and conservation.

“In addition, the project incorporates engineering standards which are part of the course,” Seto-Rosen said.

On top of this, the science classes will also look at water accessibility in certain biomes, Seto-Rosen said.

Sohn said she feels it is important to look at the issue of water and how it changes the lives of people around the world.

“It broadens their perspective and makes it more of a global issue to see how climate change effects not only us but someone in a very distant country,” Seto-Rosen said.

Freshman Jake Richmond said he is excited for the project.

“We don’t really get to do projects that span multiple classes,” Richmond said. “It should be a fun experience.”

Because the project relates to both curriculums, science teacher Marna Chamberlain and Sohn decided to work together, Sohn said.

Although the project was Chamberlain’s idea, all of the biology classes will participate in the project.

“I hope the projects works well and I hope we will be able to do it in the future,” Sohn said.

Seto-Rosen said the class has been talking about water and its importance in life all year, and that this is the last step in their discussion about water.

“It is important to do collaborations with different departments so students can see things from different perspectives,” Seto-Rosen said.