Students will launch the project by examining their expectations for water, questioning visible and hidden pollution, and mapping how local plastic waste can enter global ocean systems.

Students will investigate school and community water systems through credible research, a school water-and-plastic audit, and direct expert input. They will distinguish evidence from assumptions, map stakeholder needs, and assemble a research portfolio that supports later problem definition and solution design.

Students will define an evidence-based school or community water challenge, investigate how water laws shape possible responses, and use stakeholder perspectives and systems thinking to develop a focused design brief. Teams will generate distinct solution concepts, compare their trade-offs, and pass a feedback-based milestone gate before prototyping.

Students will safely test low-fidelity water-use solutions, complete two feedback-driven revisions, validate their designs with representative users, and prepare evidence-based products and portfolios for the Water Solutions Expo.

Students will present evidence-based sustainable water-use solutions to an authentic community audience, invite participation, use audience feedback to make a final revision, and assess how their work connects local action with global water and plastic challenges.