Ringling College and city collaborate to teach about drinking water

Ringling College of Art and Design students and the City of Sarasota teamed up to teach people about where their water comes from. Students displayed their work Tuesday, April 16, and Wednesday, April 17, at the Federal Building, 100 S. Orange Ave.

Ringling students in the Ecology of Water class were assigned to develop ways to explain the extensive treatment process City of Sarasota drinking water goes through before it gets to the tap. Students toured the City’s treatment facility to learn about the process and to gather facts and date for their project. The projects included cell phone applications, documentary films, children’s activity books, brochures and posters. The City of Sarasota may use one of the projects to help educate the public about drinking water.

Chemist with the Manatee County water department and teacher at Ringling College of Art and Design Anamari Boyes approached the City of Sarasota with the idea. The City of Sarasota is required by the State of Florida to produce an annual water quality report. A similar collaboration took place two years ago with Mote Marine Laboratory where a Ringling student’s comic book character was part of an educational campaign on red tide.

“This is the kind of partnership we want to foster,” City Manager Tom Barwin said in a press release. “The students will have a public venue to display their creative talents to explain a real world process that, while extremely important, quite frankly, is rather unexciting. The public needs to know that their drinking water is safe and clean, and it’s helpful for them to understand why. And, with Ringling students right here who can use their creative abilities to communicate the information better, it’s a win-win. I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with.”