Landmark students’ dreams down drain

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2015 (3268 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nadia Braun and Joe Toews have flushed out the details and they will soon lift the lid to industry experts on how their school can be more environmentally conscious.

The two cousins in Grade 8 at Landmark Collegiate wanted to pitch something unique when they entered the Caring for our Watersheds contest. They first identified a problem: water conservation. How can we save more water, they asked?

Braun recalled that her home equipped dual-flush converters a few years back, which converts a toilet from a single to a dual-flush system, thereby conserving water. A large flush is often not necessary, especially one that wastes 13 litres per flush, as the toilets at their school do.

IAN FROESE | THE CARILLON
Nadia Braun and Joe Toews look over a proposal they will be presenting Saturday at Oak Hammock Marsh with hopes of a top finish and the financial backing to include dual flush converters on all 16 Landmark Collegiate toilets in order to conserve water.
IAN FROESE | THE CARILLON Nadia Braun and Joe Toews look over a proposal they will be presenting Saturday at Oak Hammock Marsh with hopes of a top finish and the financial backing to include dual flush converters on all 16 Landmark Collegiate toilets in order to conserve water.

Braun and Toews considered the idea further. They thought of the logistics, got the go-ahead from their principal and suggested they will need $400 to upgrade the school’s 16 toilets.

A meagre cost compared to the price tag on a new dual-flush toilet that would have a similar effect.

Their idea was chosen in the top 10 of a record-breaking 258 entries across the province.

“The flush at our school takes a lot of water that we don’t really think is needed,” said Toews. “This HydroRight Dual Flush Converter, you install it, you don’t have to buy a whole new toilet that takes less water.”

He added that water conservation is a concern in Landmark. Once a week water pressure at his home is not up to the par, and adding converters to toilets in the Grade 7-12 school would help that situation, even a little bit.

Braun mentioned their brainstorming was influenced by discussions held in class about watersheds and water usage specifically. The algae blossoming on Lake Winnipeg is not desirable, nor is the severe drought California is enduring, they have studied.

The cousins also discovered that the toilet uses the most water of any appliance in the household—a whopping 32 percent in Winnipeg, to be exact.

The duo will make their case on Saturday at Oak Hammock Marsh to a panel of leaders in the environmental field. Regardless of where they rank in the top 10, the students will receive guaranteed spending money, ranging from as low as $300 to $1,000 per team for the grand winners.

Last year was the first time Sheldon Hiebert’s science class entered the competition. No group qualified for the top 10 then, but Agrium, a major retailer of agricultural products and services, forked over $1,000 to fund the installation in the school of a water bottle filling station, one of Landmark’s proposals last year.

Agrium will again pick projects it deems worthy to back, whether they are a Top 10 entry or not.

Obviously, Braun and Toews hope their entry is chosen. Their school is behind them, with Mr. Kehler and a custodian agreeing to install the converters.

The duo was surprised to even receive a top 10 finish. Now, with some understandable nerves before their presentation, they are excited for what’s to come.

“I’m looking forward to just being there, the experience,” said Braun, “and also the money,” she added to laughter.

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