Second-grader Andre Delgado pours water into a model of a water table to simulate rain as classmates stomp their feet to create "thunder" during an Environmental Education Exchange session at Wright Elementary School. "Dr. Faucet" (UA senior Emily Arnold), at left, instructed the class in conservation methods.

Greg Bryan / Arizona Daily Star

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Most of the efforts to combat global warming seem to be geared toward adults these days. But kids can help conserve the Earth's resources, too.

The Tucson-based Environmental Education Exchange sends out that message to 10,000 local kids each year.

The exchange started in 1991, near the beginning of the recycling craze in Tucson and unincorporated Pima County. By teaming up with local agencies such as Tucson Water and Tucson Recycles, the nonprofit organization creates programs that teachers use to educate kids about being eco-friendly, said Executive Director Neil Markowitz. It also helps with grant writing and training seminars.

With the hip factor of being eco-friendly increasing steadily, teachers have become more interested in adopting these programs to fit into their curricula, Markowitz said.

"It's become more popular without a doubt, and teachers reflect the ideas of the general public," he said.

Two of the nonprofit's most popular programs deal with water conservation.

Da Drops teaches students in first through third grades about water use. The teacher works with the class on various activities that get students more acquainted with the ways living things use water. Then the organization visits the school for a hands-on activity.

When done, all students get cups to measure how much water they use when brushing their teeth. Turning off the faucet instead of letting it run is a small detail, Markowitz said, but starting small is important for children at that age.

"It's starting to give kids a sense that they can do stuff in their home," he said.

A group of 48 second-grade students at Wright Elementary School, 4311 E. Linden St., got a visit from "Dr. Faucet" to conclude their participation in Da Drops. Dr. Faucet, aka University of Arizona senior Emily Arnold, showed the kids how water use has affected Tucson's rivers and how a simple act of turning off the water while brushing their teeth can save lots of water.

"This has been a real interest of mine," said Arnold, an English and linguistics major. "I'm writing a paper now about global warming."

Thomas Goude, 7, said after the hour-long presentation that he learned a lot.

"My sisters waste a lot of water and I waste a little," he said. "I'm going to make sure the sink's off when I brush my teeth."

The second program — Our Water, Our Future — expands on the concepts learned in Da Drops for students in fourth through fifth grades by teaching about water through science and math. When the program is complete, students are given timers to help them take shorter showers. Those who discover that they are wasting water get new shower heads from the Environmental Education Exchange.

Markowitz estimated that 4,000 shower heads have been distributed to children.

Keeping in mind state and federal educational standards, Markowitz said his organization works hard to make sure the presentations and activities teach students about more than just ways to save water. The materials teachers receive list the specific state standards each lesson targets.

"Time in the classroom is tightly defined," he said. "We work very hard to look at the concepts and cross-reference them with Arizona standards, as well as what districts are asking teachers to do in classrooms to keep things relevant."

Wright teacher JoAnn Lee said some of the ideas might have been too advanced for her students but was surprised to see how much they knew. Her class gathers weather data, so she plans to mention water conservation in that discussion.

"It's a good steppingstone for what we will do later," she said.