Enhancing Water Literacy through an Innovative Television Series Focused on Wai Maoli: Hawai’i Fresh Water Initiative

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The current study investigates the enhancement of water literacy through an innovative TV series focused on a Hawaii freshwater initiative. The approach is very interesting, and not widely used, as for many decades we do not find any relevant international publications in the Marine and Aquatic Education literature except a couple of papers from the mid-80s from Fortner (1985) and Fortner and Lyon (1985). 

This is a fluent and articulate paper, which is clear, concise, and well-focused on its topic throughout. It is well referenced and up-to-date, and most importantly it reinstates the effectiveness of TV broadcast in terms of the delivery of educational content, that is -as the author(s) properly argue- "widely accessible to a broad demographic", which is not the case for the internet connection, as the latter one seems to be the preferred source of info according to the environmental literature review.

Finally, another aspect of the significance of the paper arises from the fact that TV documentaries go beyond the boundaries of formal education, embracing that way the citizens at large, and not only those engaged in formal educational settings.

Reviewer 2 Report

The authors present a very detailed account of a community education campaign to increase water literacy in their community by writing and producing 4 half-hour episodes on water issues in the Hawaiian local community. This reviewer recommends publication and I have no comments to make. This is a very nice example of a well thought out study that is evidence-rich and where the conclusions are actionable.