Who can take the shortest showers?

This past year, a group of six students from Ann Arbor’s Skyline High School tapped into HRWC’s “Saving Water Saves Energy” project by producing a “how to” video for their school’s community. Inspired by the water conservation information they were learning, they decided to create a unique contest for their fellow classmates.

These students, who were members of the Communications, Media and Public Policy magnet, wanted to see how their classmates were doing – how much water were they using? And if they were using a lot, why not teach them a little about water conservation?

Are you ready to rumble?

They challenged 30 students from each of the four magnet programs offered at Skyline to cut their water – and as a result, energy — consumption. The classes were competing for the shortest shower, and were encouraged to bring their times down to a quick five minutes per shower!

Our students talked to their peers about where their water comes from as well as the energy it takes to process and deliver the water they use every day. They hoped that with this awareness, students would bring advice home to their families and friends about water usage and conservation.

Each competitor took an initial survey to set a baseline, and then took daily surveys in the following week to see if they were able to cut down their shower time. At the end of the week the students looked at the results and found that the Health and Medicine magnet class cut their average shower time by five minutes, going from 15 minute showers to ten.

The winning class at Skyline High School!
The winning class at Skyline High School!

But I don’t want to!

The students found that coordinating this competition had some challenges. These included recruiting participants and making sure that everyone submitted accurate data. They visited classrooms often to remind everyone to take part. One class seemed to be submitting false data, and the students actually threatened to disqualify them!

Our students thought that this was a great project to work on within their school and would like to expand it in the future. They would like to include the rest of the school, or maybe even their district! They all acknowledged that there is a lot of potential in changing the habits of high school students, and with their input we can make a significant impact on the way Ann Arbor views water.