BATON ROUGE, LA — April 6, 2018 — In preparation for Louisiana Earth Day 2018, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced this morning Baton Rouge’s participation in the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. The nation-wide competition, held annually by the Wyland Foundation during the month of April, is focused on changing everyday behaviors ranging from fixing home leaks to reducing harmful runoff into local rivers and streams.

While the competition is open to all residents in participating communities, Mayor Broome is specifically asking schools, teachers, and students across East Baton Rouge Parish to take the water conservation pledge as part of a community-wide school competition organized by her Department of Environmental Services.

“One of my top priorities since taking office has been to identify ways that our City-Parish government can support enhanced learning in schools across East Baton Rouge Parish to build stronger, more informed students and families,” said Mayor Broome. “This competition represents an exciting and powerful teaching moment to emphasize the importance of water conservation and how we can work together to create a more sustainable Baton Rouge.”

Students and teachers across East Baton Rouge Parish will compete with one another from April 1-30, 2018, by taking the “My Water” pledge. The school with the largest percentage of its student population to take the pledge will be announced as the competition’s winner. The winner will receive a special proclamation from Mayor Broome and an Amazon gift card to be used for science classroom supplies.

Mayor Broome is encouraging teachers across Baton Rouge to enroll their classes in the competition and use it as an opportunity to educate their students on the importance of water conservation. Pledges can be made throughout the month of April 2018. Schools or teachers interested in participating can visit brla.gov/mayorschallenge to download the official competition packet, including all relevant competition details and guidelines.

For additional information on the competition, contact Department of Environmental Services School Outreach Coordinator Michael Lowe at mlowe@brla.gov or (225) 389-3240, ext. 408.

Last year, residents from more than 4,800 cities across the U.S. participated in the challenge, pledging to save more than 2.2 billion gallons of water over the following year. Visit Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation at wylandfoundation.org to learn more.