Improving school children's understanding of water scarcity with a co-produced book on groundwater in Central Chile

Water scarcity is a critical issue worldwide, and Chile is no exception. Since 2010, Central Chile has been enduring an ongoing water crisis due to the coupled effects of a severe drought and the overuse of water resources, especially groundwater. Rural communities have been strongly impacted, mainly because wells from which drinking water is supplied show a dramatic drop in water levels, and some have even dried up. The water scarcity scenario requires the integration of actors and disciplines to increase awareness of groundwater; however, how to make this valuable element visible in society is an issue that remains open to debate. This paper describes and reflects on the process of making educational material about groundwater and water scarcity for children to promote public awareness. Based on transdisciplinary and co-designing processes, this work describes the social perceptions of groundwater among children and community leaders, as well as how scientific information and local knowledge of water scarcity could be integrated into a book for the young population. This research finds that educational projects on groundwater resources increase people's awareness of the role of this hidden resource in the water cycle. Such projects encourage the creation of grounded and contextualised materials that incorporate the knowledge and experience already present in the communities, increasing public awareness of the role of groundwater and associated water scarcity issues, thereby integrating academia and society. This approach could be a tool to lay the foundations for successfully addressing the water crisis in Chile over generations.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10040-023-02641-6.