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Abundance of Keynote Speakers for the 2022 H2Awesome! Conference

March 21, 2022

Students from both Upper Grand District School Board and Wellington Catholic District School Board will be able to enjoy presentations virtually for the 2022 H2Awesome! “Water is…” Conference from World Water Day to Earth Day.

An annually event developing from the traditional one-day conference at the University of Guelph campus, H2Awesome! will allow grade 7 and 8 students to learn about the importance of water and water conservation through twelve events held over a five-week period beginning on March 22, 2022.  

“H2Awesome! is an annual event for our intermediate students which celebrates the gift of water. This year’s theme, “Water is…”, invites us to ponder the various roles water plays in our everyday lives,” shared Peter Glaab, H2Awesome! Organizer and Healthy Active Living Resource Teacher at WCDSB. “Local, national, and international leaders, artists, and advocates will share their connections to water through virtual presentations.”

This year’s schedule brings together well-known keynote speakers Isaac Murdoch, Maude Barlow, Joël Forget et Anna Lissa Altidor from Parks Canada, Royal City Science, Emily De Sousa, Martin Tamlyn, Jeremy Shute, Michael Cywink, City of Guelph, Peter Cameron and Jan Sherman. The UGDSB will also be offering two French speaking presenters for UGDSB students.

“Our theme this year is “Water is….” and the speakers at H2Awesome! 2022 will be helping students to consider all the things that water is. Students are learning about climate change and many are investigating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their classrooms,” said UGDSB Curriculum Lead, Heather Walker. “Water connects to many of the SDGs and our speakers will be highlighting these connections. Some of our goals in bringing such a diverse group of speakers to students is to help them to recognize their own role in water conservation, climate change mitigation and achievement of the SDGs. It is important that students see themselves as part of the solution and as innovators.”

For students, H2Awesome! intends to create a lifelong connection to water.

“For water to be cared for as a basic human right, our actions need to break away from a mentality of capital consumption and adopt conservation and sustainability. Our presenters understand and live out this relationship of care in a variety of different ways,” said Glaab.

Teachers can sign up their classes to participate in any of the virtual H2Awesome! presentations World Water Day, March 22, to Earth Day, April 22, through the following registration links:

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