The Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children’s Water Festival is a fun and educational event for everyone, including volunteers. You will be in the gorgeous Haliburton Highlands as the leaves are turning colour. You will spend the day playing with water and having the joy of seeing young faces come alive with understanding.
Approximately 70 volunteers are needed each day to help run the Festival. HMK Children’s Water Festival is tremendously fortunate in having volunteers from the Trent University’s Environmental Studies programs as well as grade 11/12 students of the Youth Leadership in Sustainability class of Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB. The remainder of our volunteers are recruited from the local community.
After 2 years of cancelled events, we’re happy to be reviving this outdoor educational event in ways adapted for pandemic safety for all our participants and volunteers. We’ll be following all school board and Health Unit safety protocols, organizing so that student groups are able to distance from each other and helpers, running activities that are safe and done outside even in the rain, offering all volunteers roles that they are comfortable with, providing lip-reading masks for when needed and asking volunteers to only come if well through screening questions. Volunteer Guides available below for our Fall Festival of past years provide more detailed and relevant information for Volunteering at our Fall Festival at Kinark; October 5th 2023;
Download the Volunteer Information Guide 2023
This guide is for volunteers who are helping to run the activity centres, with registration, parking, as Marshals…on Festival day(s).
Find Festival Map for 2023 Here
Download the Parent Information Guide 2023
This guide is for parents and adult volunteers who are helping teachers with their classes. For more information, please see the Teachers page.
Beyond Fall festival days, we offer Volunteer Roles through the year :
- Researching, resourcing and helping hands for next storage and ‘going mobile’ solutions ( including wish list networkers & collectors)
- Advising, networking, planning for Events via Steering Committee Membership
- Water friendly fundraising & sponsor approaches
- Activity centre repair and development
- Supporting grant applications
- Web and social media posting support
- Graphic design, illustration and desk top publishing
- School visitors
- Water hero challenge supporters
- One-day lake shore and community event supporters and promoters
If you would like more information or to volunteer, please contact us !
Why should I help?
The Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children’s Water Festival helps shape children’s attitudes about respecting and conserving valuable water resources so they can ensure a reliable water supply for the future. About 70 volunteers are needed each day to staff the activity centres. Volunteers will help with running activities, act as greeters, assisting with parking, directing groups through the site, and through giving hands-on help for equipment set-up and take down.
Who will attend the Festival?
About 300 students from Grades 4 and 6 will attend the Festival from the Trillium Lakelands District School Board which encompasses schools from Georgian Bay, Muskoka, Huntsville, Haliburton to Lindsay, and perhaps beyond. Students who are home schooled or attend private schools also attend.
What happens at the event?
The Festival has 30-40 activity centres that will challenge students to consider the importance of water to themselves as individuals, and to society at large. The activities follow five themes: Water Conservation, Water Protection, Water Science, Water Technology and Changing Attitudes.
Each activity has one or two simple messages. Materials are available for background and instructions for each activity.
What do you get for helping out?
All volunteers will receive breakfast snacks and lunch. We will also provide masks with a ‘see-through’ window for lip-reading for when needed to protect yourself or others. You will also:
- become involved in a community of water stewardship
- increase your network
- meet new people
- have fun engaging with children in outdoor, environmental education
- build your resume
How much time is needed?
A one-day commitment is best for in-person Festival Volunteers, from 8: a.m. to approximately 3 p.m. that day. We have some half day shifts available for local community members and several ways our festival is supported by volunteers throughout the year, from fundraising to activity centre development and repair. If you would like more information, please contact us !
What is a typical day at the Festival like?
8:30-9 a.m.—Arrive at the Kinark Outdoor Centre and sign in at volunteer registration (Kinark Dining Hall). After checking in and meeting your activity centre partner(s) you will be taken to your activity centre. There will be time for you to try the activity yourself and make sure you are comfortable leading the activity. There will be Marshalls dedicated to each area of the festival; they will be there to assist with the activities or to fill in so volunteers can take a break and explore the rest of the festival.
9:30 to 10:00 a.m.— Busses of elementary students will arrive, get oriented and hit the activities.
11:15 – 12:45—Lunch is provided to volunteers at the Kinark Dining Hall. There is no food available for sale on site. If you have a large appetite, feel free to bring your own snacks. (Litterless ones, please!) Feel free to bring a reusable mug for coffee, too – it will be supplied throughout the morning. Activity centres will not be closing down completely but station partners will give each other a 1/2 hour each for lunch while the other manages the activity station during this time.
After lunch—Return to your activity. Stu
dents will be eager to continue with their festival experience.
Approximately 2:30—Clean up your station and take inventory. Please advise organizing staff of any and all malfunctioning equipment, or anything that the activity will need stocked up for the following day. Return to the registration area for a quick wrap-up session and to fill out an evaluation form. Head back to school, or head home.
2:30-4 pm ~ Crew of volunteers help with take-down of festival
