Mayors from nearly every Okanagan municipality pledged their commitment to sustainable water use and urged residents to do the same this week.

The mayors joined students from 脡cole Glenmore Elementary at the kick-off event Thursday for Make Water Work, an annual campaign from the Okanagan Basin Water Board to encourage water conservation.

Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran made his pledge is to be more responsible when watering his garden and lawn.

sa国际传媒淲e are becoming more and more urban,sa国际传媒� said Basran. sa国际传媒淭hat means itsa国际传媒檚 more important than ever that we make sure that the plants and our lawn get watered and not the pavement.sa国际传媒�

The campaign, being in its ninth year, is an annual competition between Okanagan municipalities, one which Kelowna has never won.

sa国际传媒淢y challenge is for the residents of Kelowna to take this seriously because it is a big deal,sa国际传媒� said Basran.

The mayor urges the public to make sure sa国际传媒渨e are preserving water and making sure there is an abundant supply for not only tomorrow, but for many years to come.sa国际传媒�

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The theme of this yearsa国际传媒檚 campaign is to practice water sustainability in gardens, adopting the floral ideas provided by the sa国际传媒淢ake Water Work in your yardsa国际传媒� plant collection.

The collection is comprised of plants whose biological attributes allow them to survive in drought conditions.

The Glenmore students created their own school garden using the Make Water Work plant options as their guide.

sa国际传媒淭he Hardy Ice Plant can get as high as three inches and spreads to about 20 (inches) and needs full sun and one drop (of water),sa国际传媒� said Grade 5 student Maddie Boback.

Fellow student Cayla Kennedy explained how sa国际传媒渢he Cushion Spurgesa国际传媒檚 height is 14 inches, it spreads up to 18 inches and in the full sun takes two water drops and in part sun, one water drop.sa国际传媒�

Classmate Charley Dowhaniuk cited the Rose Glow Barberry sa国际传媒渟lowly reaches four feet wide and five feet high, is best in full sun and part shade and grows in any soil and needs to be watered regularly weekly, or more often in extreme heat.sa国际传媒�

These are just three plants on the thorough and extensive list that can be found on the website.

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sa国际传媒淲e learned about why you want to use waterized plants to use less water,sa国际传媒� said Connor Brasnett, a Grade 5 student in charge of building the wooden structure of the gardens. sa国际传媒淚t was really cool and fun because we didnsa国际传媒檛 have to do school work.sa国际传媒�

The school garden project had the support of many stakeholders to help the students along the way.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e been working with my colleague, Lisa Marques, to teach our students about how we can use water more wisely in the Okanagan,sa国际传媒� said Katie Wihak, a Grade 5 French immersion teacher.

sa国际传媒�(The students) were definitely really excited to work together, to use their hands and to see something come to fruition.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e been able to do this because of our administrators and the parents who came and helped as well as reaching out to the community and having their support,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淪o itsa国际传媒檚 really a group effort.sa国际传媒�

Although the event is over, that isnsa国际传媒檛 stopping Glenmore from continuing on the track theysa国际传媒檝e begun.

sa国际传媒淥ur goal is to turn this space into an outdoor learning centre,sa国际传媒� explained Wihak. sa国际传媒淓ventually we want to build a pergola so there will be some shade for the students and we can work and play outside.sa国际传媒�

The OBWB says nearly a quarter of all water used in the Okanagan is doused on household lawns and gardens.

The valley is already at a disadvantage by having less water per person than anywhere else in Canada, despite having one of the highest usage rates per person.