“you think, how is that juxtaposition happening?” sridhar said. “there’s this flooding, and the city just keeps moving on, but you’re still asked within the household to manage your water — cause there’s going to be a drought later on. you never know when it’s going to stop.”

sridhar and the nature conservancy work to show people that water comes from far beyond the tap. they work with farmers to use nature to help manage, conserve, and produce clean water.

2. eliza swedenborg, research analyst for the water program at the world resources institute, learned about water conservation when she was a peace corps member in mali. swedenborg is part of the world resources institute’s aqueduct initiative, a resource that informs people of the supply and demand of water. the goal of the aqueduct initiative is to provide farmers, businesses, and students with data about water demand across the globe to mitigate risk.

3. walt and ellen moore own a dairy farm in chester county, pennsylvania, that has been in the family for 108 years. with 850 milking cows, walt moore says water is a daily concern, but is fortunate to average 40 inches of rainfall a year. moore partners with the stroud water research center to develop the most efficient water usage practices. upstream – small tributaries that flow into our cities; what practices nearby

“farmers are some of the oldest conservationists; we’ve had to adapt and learn,” moore said.

4. matt carstens of land o’lakes, inc., and head of their new sustain initiative, connects farmers with businesses to develop sustainable practices. carstens emphasized the importance of education and storytelling. land o’lakes provides tools for farmers to conserve water.

5. jason haber, gw alum and author of “the business of good,” says that the battle of this century will be about food and water. haber is a storyteller working to inform people about the global water crisis and more efficient and sustainable business practices.

“you can lead a horse to water, but they’re only going to drink if you tell a good story,” haber said.

in the district of columbia, over 35% of children are considered obese or overweight and 13% of families experience food insecurity. a number of nonprofit community gardens in the area that offer young people access to green spaces could be the answer to this growing problem. these organizations, such as kid power, offer youth opportunities where they can learn how to lead healthy lives. urban gardening also provides this community access to fresh produce. educating young gardeners in the district could be a major step towards lowering local rates of childhood obesity and food insecurity.

kid power is one of several nonprofit organizations in the district that offers local youth the opportunity to try their hand at gardening. kid power offers free afterschool programs to its participants. one of its greatest successes is the veggietime program — which provided students with its unique pickle opportunity this summer. students learn about nutrition, portion control, and, of course, gardening. programs like kid power’s give young people and their families access to fresh produce.

veggietime coordinator katie lu clougherty had the following to say about urban farming for youth, “there are a lot of opportunities right now in the city for new gardens and for even more kids to learn the skill. i think showing youth that gardening is easy to do will make them be more willing to do it on their own.”

the washington youth garden and city blossoms are also among local organizations that use green spaces to teach local children lessons in environmental stewardship and healthy eating while effecting change concerning childhood obesity and food scarcity. programs like these are grooming the next generation of urban farmers. as a result, d.c. could see major improvements in its food delivery system, childhood obesity rates, as well as access to fresh produce.

buying local produce has seen major gains in popularity in recent years. according to a usda report to congress on trends in american food systems, the number of farmers markets in the united states increased 180% between 2006 and 2014. local harvest lists 80 farmers markets in the district alone. these markets can provide tangible opportunities to budding urban farmers, like those who participate in programs similar to kidpower’s veggietime.

as more local kids join their peers in urban gardening, the district of columbia could quite possibly see major improvements in areas experiencing food scarcity and high childhood obesity rates. access to green space provided by nonprofits gives youth invaluable opportunities that do not end at just gardening. these spaces allow kids to gain strong understandings concerning everything from portion control to the need for a change in washington’s food scarce areas.