MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A new, traveling exhibit hosted by the University of Minnesota showcases the stories and relationships Minnesota residents have with water.
The We Are Water MN exhibit recently opened at the university’s Institute on the Environment on the St. Paul campus, The Minnesota Daily reported .
“We really want people who visit the exhibit to have it as a moment to pause and reflect on their own personal relationship with water and their own personal responsibilities,” said Jennifer Tonko, program manager at the Minnesota Humanities Center. “Most of these problems we know the technical solutions for, it’s the social solutions that are harder.”
The exhibit underscores the importance of connecting water research with community movements, university researchers said. It was organized by local nonprofit Minnesota Humanities Center in collaboration with several state agencies.
“This exhibit is just a spectacular example of collaboration and cross-pollination,” said Jessica Hellmann, the institute’s director.
The exhibit will be at the university until late November before it moves to other locations in Minnesota.
River Life program coordinator Patrick Nunnally said the collaboration comes as the state’s waters are facing stresses, such as aging water infrastructure, increasing pollution and climate change.
“Water issues are becoming widely recognized as issues of equity and justice,” Nunnally said. “It’s a human right to have drinking water, water for sanitation, water for cleaning, water for food preparation.”
About 40 percent of Minnesota’s lakes and rivers are polluted, according to estimates from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Kate Brauman, lead scientist for the institute’s Global Water Initiative, said researchers are hoping to work with communities to determine where research is needed and ensure work applies to the real world.
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Information from: The Minnesota Daily, http://www.mndaily.com/
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