Category: CWEP Program Updates

5 things I’ve learned as an AmeriCorps Stormwater Education Coordinator

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I am helping create a future generation of water guardians, and that is something to be proud of!

Taylor Weddington, AmeriCorps 23′

1. The World of Stormwater

    This role has exposed me to a vast array of knowledge about stormwater that most people don’t get the opportunity to learn about. From different types of pollution to infrastructure terms, and strategies for reducing stormwater runoff, I have gained a deep understanding of the importance of mitigating the effects of stormwater and how to communicate these concepts to diverse audiences.

    2. North Carolina Geography

    Although I am from North Carolina, I knew little about the smaller towns that CWEP is partnered with. It’s been an adventure traveling all over the central and eastern part of the state to meet with community members and get to know the area. From Leland in the south to Roxboro in the north and everywhere in between, there is a lot of exploring to do and many amazing people to meet!

    3. Coordination Skills

    As a newcomer to coordination, I have navigated how to manage multiple events with partners and community organizations across different timelines. I quickly learned that effective communication and organization are key when planning meetings and events.

    4. The importance of asking questions

    Starting a new position involves a lot of on-the-job learning, and asking questions is the best way to gain a deeper understanding of the work. CWEP has a culture of mentorship, and I have been fortunate to learn from subject matter experts and leaders in the environment and resilience field. Learning more about their roles and how they achieve their own goals at work has given me knowledge that I will use throughout my professional life.

    5. Cultivating curiosity

    As someone who works with younger students who haven’t had much exposure to water processes yet, it is a special privilege to introduce new concepts about a resource that is often taken for granted. By connecting students with nature and helping to cultivate healthy relationships with water, I am helping create a future generation of water guardians, and that is something to be proud of!

    My AmeriCorps term will be ending in July and I am looking forward to what the future holds! If you are interested in becoming the next Stormwater Education Coordinator for CWEP, learn more by clicking the link below.

    Apply Here

    CWEP Creek Week 2023 is a wrap!

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    Dear partners and community members,

    We want to express our heartfelt thanks for your outstanding contributions to the CWEP Regional Creek Week. Thanks to your efforts, Creek Week 23′ was an overwhelming success, with a total of 97 events organized across 16 towns and counties, bringing together more than 2,500 participants.

    Your dedication to the cause of water quality stewardship was evident in the incredible results of the event. We were thrilled to see that over 23,500 pounds of trash were collected (around 20,000lbs was collected from Durham Creek Week) and more than 700 drains were marked during the week. These impressive numbers are a testament to the hard work and commitment of all involved.

    We are incredibly grateful for the time and energy that each and every one of you dedicated to making the CWEP Regional Creek Week a success. Your passion for the environment and the health of our waterways is truly inspiring and serves as an example to others in our community.

    Once again, thank you for your participation in this year’s event. Your contributions have made a positive impact on our region’s water quality, and we look forward to next year’s Creek Week to continue this important work.

    Sincerely,

    The CWEP Team

    Get Ready for Creek Week 2023!

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    CWEP partners have been meeting and planning this year’s Creek Week diligently for months, and now the time is almost upon us. This year is going to be CWEP’s biggest Creek Week yet with events going on across the region including storm drain markings, litter cleanups, library activities, hikes, paddles, workshops, educational lecture series, and more. You can find something to participate in that is happening near you by looking at the list of events on the Creek Week Webpage.

    Find Creek Week Events

    Do you want to participate, but are looking for something that you can do on your own? Look no further than the GSI Oh My Scavenger Hunt! This virtual scavenger hunt will be held on social media through Instagram and Facebook.

    How to play:

    •Read our posts on social media and our GSI webpage to learn more about Green Stormwater Infrastructure and its relationship with our waterways and community.

    •Go explore and find an example of GSI, snap a picture and post on Instagram or Facebook!

    •Tag cwep_nc on Instagram or NC Clean Water Education Partnership on Facebook to be entered in a prize drawing that will be held on the 21st and 25th. Feel free to also tag your local government.

    •There will be a total of 3 winners. There can be a maximum of 3 entries per person to be entered in the prize drawing, but feel free to post as many pictures of GSI as you would like.

    •If your account is not PUBLIC, please direct message your picture.

    •Pictures submitted will be saved and added to a GSI photo album on our website!

    Need more information on Green Stormwater Infrastructure to help you on your search? Check out this Green Stormwater Infrastructure Website to see examples.

    Learn more about “GSI!”
    Learn more about these Green Stormwater Infrastructure examples on our GSI webpage!
    out of focus lights on rainy weather

    Featured Art from Streets to Creeks

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    Thank you to all who submitted to our stormwater art contest which ran from August 5th to September 5th. Over the fall and winter months, we will be featuring submissions as our website headers. Maddie, our week 2 winner, took the photo that is featured as our new website background!

    Winners will receive CWEP giveaways including a set of reusable straws. Check out our virtual gallery below to see the artwork submissions. 

    Below are the announcements of our winners! Congrats to all of you. Scroll through to see photos of the artwork and descriptions from the artists of what inspired their piece.

    Streets to Creeks Stormwater Art Competition

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    When? August 5-September 5th, 2020

    Who? Open to all ages!

    To celebrate National Water Quality Month, the Clean Water Education Partnership invites you to create an art piece that shows how you interact with your watershed. A watershed is an area of land that all drains to the same creek, stream, or river. Everyone lives in a watershed!

    Your art piece must somehow incorporate the name of the watershed you live in. Type your address into this interactive map to find your watershed.

    Or, you can discover your river basin (a larger-scale watershed) by looking at this interactive map.

     Get inspired by a few of these ideas:

    • Use non-toxic sidewalk chalk to draw a watershed message to others in your neighborhood
    • Create a poster with cool facts and photos from your watershed that you can share with others
    • Draw or take a picture of one of your favorite plants or animals in your watershed
    • Make a sculpture out of litter you find in your watershed

    A stormwater art installation that doubles as a rainwater harvester (Binford Green Schools Initiative, Chesepeake Bay)

    “Protect our Watersheds” art competition submission (Pennsylvania American Water)

     Your art piece can be in any medium you choose as long as you can take a photo of it.

    Winners will have a photo of their art piece featured as the homepage header on the CWEP website and receive a CWEP Swag Bag with fun giveaways in the mail. Art will also be used by CWEP to create a set of greeting cards for our fall BioThon competition. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be chosen weekly.

    This competition is open to all ages. Children under 13 must have an adult submit their art piece.

    Art can be submitted through this google form. If you have any questions please contact Hannah Barg, the CWEP Education and Outreach Coordinator at hbarg@tjcog.org.

    Water-Based Distance Learning Activities

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    With the increase amount of school, workplace, library, and community space closures, you might be looking for some ideas to pass the time with your children. Here are some water-based/ STEM activities to pass the time while learning about water.

    •  Go on a water scavenger hunt! Using the image below, make a checklist or take photos of the following items to keep track of what you find!

    water scavenger hunt

    • Sidewalk water painting. Sidewalk painting can happen with paint brushes and water, too! Watch in fascination as your designs disappear slowly because of evaporation. This is a great opportunity to begin teaching younger children about the wonders of the water cycle. This activity is best done on a sunny day.
    • Is it raining outside? Take your child on a rainy day walk! Follow the water from the gutters to see where it ends up. What did you find along the way?
    • Teach your child about the water cycle using their bodies through water cycle yoga. Visit this link if you need some inspiration for how to facilitate it!

    water cycle yoga

    (Image Courtesy of Durham Hub Farm)

    • Make your own mini water cycle using a to-go or old food container with a clear top. Fill the container with rocks, grass, plants, and other found items, mist with a bit of water, set in the sun, and see what happens!
    • Does your child like to color and read? Learn about stormwater runoff with the Stormwater Sleuth and Running Rain activity book put together by University of Nebraska- Extension. This activity book is geared towards 4th-8th grade students.

    For a complete list of activities and online resources, please visit the new Distance Learning page

    Stream Stewardship Opportunity: Join NC Stream Watch!

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    Are you looking for a local stewardship opportunity? Do you enjoy picking up trash or water quality monitoring? If so, you should join NC Stream Watch! 

    NC Stream Watch is a state-wide community science engagement program created by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). NC Stream Watch showcases the wide diversity of watersheds across the Mountains, Piedmont and Coastal Plains regions of the state and gives folks an opportunity to engage with their local waterways. Any interested group can participate in Stream Watch, including scout troops, church volunteers, key clubs, or school programs. The minimum requirements are to do two trash cleanups per year and take a photo and GPS location of your stream site. 

    This spring, CWEP is launching an NC Stream Watch Train-the Trainer series. Community groups in member local governments can contact CWEP to be trained as a Stream Watch leader and we will join you for your first event. CWEP will train leaders how to fill out the online monitoring surveys and choose a safe site. We will also provide materials such as macroinvertebrate sampling equipment and chemical water quality testing kits to enhance the environmental education opportunities at the first event. 

    Please contact the CWEP AmeriCorps member at cwep@tjcog.org if you are interested in a training and visit the NC DEQ Stream Watch site for more information about the program.

    NC Stream Watch Flyer

     

    Traveling Back in time on the Neuse River

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    CWEP AmeriCorps member Hannah has been hard at work developing stormwater/ watershed curriculum geared towards high school students for direct education visits in member communities. Based on an Environmental Justice timeline activity she did at the National Environmental Justice Conference in Washington D.C., Hannah developed a “History of the Neuse River” timeline. During this interactive lesson, students work in small groups to match photos with their corresponding event and attempt to put the events in order. This activity is meant to familiarize students with their local watershed and give context for the specific water quality issues in their river basin. The lesson is designed to be general enough that students throughout the Neuse River Basin can use it. Hannah is in the process of creating a similar timeline for the Cape Fear River Basin in addition to creating lesson continuations that teachers can use in the classroom.

    Accompanied by members, Hannah will be piloting this lesson at South Granville, East Wake, and Holly Springs High School the first week of December.

    To see an interactive electronic version of the timeline, please visit the following link:

    History of the Neuse: Full Timeline

    Below is the summarized version of the timeline, for quick reference.

    neuse river timeline updated 11.26 photo

    And That’s a Wrap! FY 2019 Highlights

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    Kids cleaning Enviroscape

    We finished up our Outreach and Education for the Fiscal Year 2019- and what a year it has been!! We interacted with over 3,000 individuals in CWEP regions over the course of the previous ten months on all things stormwater. A total of 146 hours were spent administering, leading, or aiding in programs across the state! The age range of our audiences ranged from Pre-K-Adult for all events and programs. In addition, we reached our main goal of aiding in or leading a program for all 37 of our member communities throughout the year- meeting both Public Participation & Involvement and Public Outreach & Education NPDES MS4 Minimum Measures. While we reached all 37 communities, a total of 71 programs, events, and meetings took place with about 1-3 visits/member.

    Focused educational themes included the water cycle, macroinvertebrates, litter/trash, pet waste, lawn waste, fertilizer/pesticides, household waste, and vehicle pollutants. Check out our program and service menu guide here to learn more about the services we can provide you!

    Programs and events ranged from libraries, schools, farmer’s markets, festivals, fairs, workshops, summer camps, Boys and Girls Clubs, scout groups, Parks & Rec programs, YMCA’s, training high schools, and more! CWEP also had several meetings with our member representatives about future events and how CWEP can aid their communities going forward.

    We can’t wait to see what 2019-2020 has in store for us! Check out some images from the fun we had this past year here! Also, keep checking back in for our Annual Report FY19 which will be published on our Public SharePoint archive site in the near future. Enjoy the rest of your summer and we will see you soon this fall!

    New CWEP Members: Fayetteville and Nashville

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    Fayetteville and Nashville joined the Clean Water Education Partnership on July 1st, and we are excited to have them! Shauna Haslem is the contact for Fayetteville and Julie Spriggs is the contact for Nashville. Existing members, take a moment to welcome them and swap stormwater ideas!

    Shauna Haslem is the Public Information Specialist/Stormwater Educator for the City of Fayetteville, NC. She coordinates media and public outreach for the Public Services department, focusing on the Stormwater program. This includes media inquiries, publication development, website development, and management of social media accounts. In addition, she is passionate about providing top-notch stormwater education to school-aged children in the Fayetteville area, and conducts education programs when the many other hats she wears allow. She looks forward to having the new CWEP AmeriCorps provide a pair of helping hands in stormwater education efforts!

    Julie Spriggs is the Planning Director for the Town of Nashville, NC. In her role, she uses skills she has gained as a GIS professional and planner to guide Nashville’s growth and development while taking into account stormwater management impacts. She looks forward to having CWEP’s AmeriCorps come out and do stormwater education in Nashville, as well as being able to take advantage of all the mass media educational materials CWEP has developed.

    CWEP looks forward to serving these two -villes’ stormwater education needs!