Splashing into new habits. 

The new water fountain installations have been completed during this past month, helping the school become more environmentally friendly. 

During the coronavirus pandemic, many commonly used objects and machines were shut down for fear of spreading the virus. One of these common pieces of machinery were water fountains, specifically the ones in the school. Now, since students are fully back in-person and restrictions are being lifted, the school decided to allow students to begin using those water fountains once more. However, after a week of renovations from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, all of the old fountains have been replaced with new, more efficient ones. 

Not only do these new fountains now keep students and teachers hydrated, but they also are beneficial for the environment. They now are able to automatically refill water bottles using sensory detection, which allows people to be able to use reusable water bottles instead of throwing away plastic ones. There are even numbers on each individual fountain throughout the school, showing how many plastic water bottles have been saved from being thrown away. The number of plastic bottles being saved from being wasted not only benefits the community, but the environment as well. 

“I don’t have as many plastic water bottles in my recycling box anymore because of kids now using the new water fountains to refill them,” Teacher Brandi Molter said. 

Although something as small as a water fountain can seem insignificant, it is one step towards our school, and Mount Washington as a whole, to become more environmentally friendly and efficient. It is greatly beneficial for students to be able to care for their own health while also caring for the environment’s health simultaneously.