Promoting Water Efficiency and Hydrocitizenship in Young People’s Learning about Drought Risk in a Temperate Maritime Country

• Main Authors: Verity Jones, Sarah Whitehouse, Lindsey McEwen, Sara Williams, Luci Gorell Barnes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: drought; resilience; water efficiency; water behaviours; citizenship; agency
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/18/2599

Engaging young citizens with drought risk and positive water behaviours is essential in domestic water demand management within the wider climate crisis. This paper evaluates a new research-informed, picture book—‘DRY: The Diary of a Water Superhero’—that explores UK drought. The book’s development was underpinned by research within the Drought Risk and You (DRY) project. The book’s concept and storyline were co-produced by an interdisciplinary team, including a creative practitioner. This focused on key themes: drought definitions and types; drought myths; adaptation and young people’s (YP) agency. Characters and storyline were co-created to promote YP’s autonomy as change agents, and to encourage intergenerational and community learning. This paper evaluates the book from three perspectives: of YP, trainee teachers (TT) and teachers. Emergent themes are triangulated: drought as a sensitive issue, subject knowledge and changes in behaviour, and YP’s misconceptions about drought and place. TT also contemplated their improved subject knowledge and barriers to engaging with positive water behaviours. Teachers reflected on classroom use of the book, prior experiences about teaching drought, curriculum context and st/age of YP engaged. This paper reflects on how these insights feed into school practice and water industry outreach, in developing effective learning resources that promote a valuing of water, behaviour change and wider hydrocitizenship among YP and their communities.