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As a school science-enrichment club, Science Rocks U boosts the innovative ideas of today’s Texas youth to the playing field of professional biologists. Specifically, this inventive group of fifteen teens is teaching the public key lessons about water conservation. Three years ago, in Whiteface, a small town 45 miles west of Lubbock, Science Rocks U began raising awareness about the Ogallala Aquifer and the unique wetlands that replenish it. It’s especially important because farmers rely on the aquifer for irrigation. An estimated one out of every three crops grown in the United States depends on water from the Ogallala, which covers 174,000 square miles deep beneath eight states, including the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

Science Rocks U calls this outreach project “SPLASH,” which stands for “Studying Playa Lakes and Saving Habitat.” The group developed an educational program that includes teaching tools ranging from brochures to a music video, and was invited to perform at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s first Youth Forum for the Environment. Science Rocks U also has sponsored two Playa Lakes Festivals to draw attention to the aquifer.

In addition to the presentations, science grants have enabled students to conduct actual field research with mentors from both government agencies and Texas Tech University. The results from these ongoing efforts can be seen at the organization’s Wetlands Education and Research Center, and now the community’s efforts are attracting national attention. Students are organizing a National Wetlands Youth Brigade, and have received calls from young people in places ranging from New Jersey to New Mexico.

The success is proof positive that good works knows no age limit.