Gwinnett Daily Post

Student wins for county in water essay contest

DULUTH - Harrison Falk, a student at Duluth Middle School, is the Gwinnett County winner in the fourth annual water conservation and preservation essay contest sponsored by the Clean Water Campaign and the Water Use It Wisely Campaign.

Falk, an eighth-grader, will receive a $25 cash prize and be presented with an award.

The two organizations teamed to encourage children and parents to address the growing need to improve water quality and conservation efforts in Georgia. Students researched and shared their thoughts on why conserving water and preventing water pollution are important for the future of rivers, lakes and streams. The main goal of this program is to encourage students to create inventive solutions to water quality and conservation efforts in Georgia.

In his essay, Falk says, "The most valuable natural resource on Earth is not gold, platinum or oil. It is water, for the very reason that while we can live without gold, platinum and oil, we cannot live without water." He adds, "It is vital to our survival - to every living thing's survival - and, although you might not think about it when you turn on the sink or shower, the world's water supply is running out."

The contest was open to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding, Rockdale and Walton counties. More than 1,000 middle school students from throughout the district participated. Each participating school submitted its winning essay for the county competition, and one overall winner was selected from among the county winners. County winners receive a Clean Water Campaign/Water Use It Wisely certificate presented by an elected official from that county.

To view the names of the winners and the winning essays, visit the Clean Water Campaign's Web site (www.cleanwatercampaign.com) and click on the essay contest link.

Gwinnett Gab appears in the Thursday and Sunday editions of the Gwinnett Daily Post.