City of Water Day Bingo Challenge: Free

The Challenge Event may have ended but we encourage you to download the eco-bingo card and use it to help you explore your local watershed.

On July 16, City of Water (COW) Day is all about connecting communities with the water.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA)* is observing 2022 COW Day by issuing an eco-BINGO challenge to our members and followers so we can celebrate together. We want to connect as many folks as possible with their local water bodies and watersheds. Everyone lives in a watershed. What we do and where we live impacts the water, even if it is far away! This year’s theme is ‘In Your Neighborhood’. So today, we challenge you all to head out into your neighborhood, connect with the environment, and see how you can make a difference! This FREE challenge runs now through July 23. 

How to Play: Download the eco-bingo card and spend some time exploring your local watershed. (Some challenges can be completed on your computer or smartphone.) Have fun carrying out the challenges between July 8, 2022 – July 23, 2022 (cross out corresponding squares) until you complete a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

How to Submit: Snap a photo of your completed card and share it with us by filling out this Google Form -OR- complete your submission and email it to GreatSwampWatershed@gmail.com. IMPORTANT: If you are submitting via email, please include your first name and last initial, town, state, and whether we can use your photo.

Submission Deadline: Midnight, July 23, 2022.

Winner Selection & Prize: We will post pictures of the entries as they come in. Our staff will randomly draw one winner from all who enter by 3 pm the following Friday. Winner can choose from three prizes: 1) Paddle for the winner and three friends; 2) GSWA Reusable Mug and Bag for winner and three friends; 3) GSWA Hike for winner and three friends.

* A community initiative through the Waterfront Alliance and funded by NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program and the Hudson River Foundation.

Eco-bingo Challenges Explained:

1. Find out: Where does your household water come from? Is it taken out of a reservoir, from a well, or even the Passaic River?
2. Take a selfie of you and your favorite water spot and let us know where you are!
3. Pick up at least five pieces of litter on a hike or walk. Litter finds its way to the water when carried by rain.
4. Use only refillable beverage containers all day (no disposable coffee cups or single use bottles).
5. Spend at least 10 mins. watching wildlife in your watershed. Tag us and tell us how many species you saw. Tag GSWA on one of these social channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn.
6. Organize some friends to go out and pick up trash along your favorite path or waterbody. What is the main trash you are collecting? Share the photo and main trash and include #gswaecochallenge.
7. Identify some local flora. Find three plants you don’t know the name of and look them up. There are many apps to help you, like iNaturalist.
8. Visit the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.
9. Like Great Swamp Watershed on Facebook.
10. Follow the Waterfront Alliance on Instagram.
11. Follow the Twitter profile for the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP).
12. Use the Water Footprint Calculator to find what’s your water footprint. Tell us when you submit your entry.
13. Join the Great Swamp Watershed as a member or Donate to GSWA to help us achieve our mission to protect water and land for a healthier environment now and for the future.
14. Go for a hike at the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge. or the Conservation Management Area.
15. Use the #Cityofwaterday hashtag and post a picture of one of your challenge squares being completed.
16. Collect rainwater to water your plants. Not only does rainwater collection encourage zero-waste but it is a great hydration source for your plants too.
17. Add a vegetarian meal to your day. Legumes like kidney beans require only a tenth of the water that beef does per unit of protein.
18. Skip buying new clothes. Shop Second Hand or join a local Buy Nothing community-based group. A new pair of jeans uses 1,800 gallons of water to produce, and a cotton t-shirt uses 400 gallons.
19. Buy locally grown fruits and vegetables. Eating locally grown food reduces your carbon footprint.
20. 20. Time your shower. The average shower uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute, and hot water uses more energy than cold. Pick a favorite song that’s about 3 minutes long and put it on! This helps to track how long you shower, and conserves water helps the watershed.
21. Carpool or bike! On average, one gallon of gasoline takes three-to-six gallons of water to produce.
22. Skip watering your lawn for the weekend (or for the whole summer!) Lawns are considered the number one irrigated ‘crop’ in the US, using a whopping 9 billion gallons nationwide each day.
23. Make an eco-friendly swap in your cleaning products. Many cleaning products contain chemicals that can be harmful to our health and the environment. Visit our website for a great breakdown of what you can use instead: ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND CLEANING PRODUCTS.
24. Pick up five plastic water bottles during a walk. Tell us how long it took you to collect them.