In modern day Ayutthaya Province, a historic heritage previously Thailand’s capital city, water quality has become extremely poor with garbage filling several of its canals. To restore this antique landmark and its natural ecosystem, WWF-Thailand is working to involve youth to bring about a long-lasting conservation method maintained by the local community through education.
 

In collaboration with Nestle, WWF-Thailand established the first water resource learning center in Ayutthaya to provide a knowledge-sharing platform about water management for the community and its youth. First set up at the Sakleewithaya School, the Youth Water Guardians Program now teaches and enables 1,077 students from 16 pilot schools to partake in conservation work in their hometown.
 
One of the program's main activities is student exhibitions. Rotating between the 16 schools, students take turns to organize stations and shows to share their knowledge about the importance of water, the way of life between communities and rivers, and guidelines for water resource conservation.
 
Supported by resources from the program, the province’s four-subdistricts members and youth networks also came together to preserve the Kanom-Chin--an important and major heritage canal which villagers use for farm irrigation, commute and fishing--forming the Kanom-Chin Canal Conservation Working Group. In addition, they also successfully revived their local water festival, organizing the first one in 30 years to conserve the river through restoration of lost cultural traditions.