Partnership for Water/Watershed Education Emerges from UNT Workshop
On April 20th, 2005 over 100 environmental education leaders from local governments, special districts, private agencies, non-profits, citizens, students and educators participated in a daylong
workshop to discuss watershed education strategies for the Upper Trinity River Basin. The goal of the workshop was to listen and learn from attendees about their current public education and
outreach efforts, and to discuss opportunities for implementing regional strategies to raise the
public’s awareness of water and watershed resources.
The morning sessions addressed strategies for targeting the private sector, elected officials, the general public, school children and our local media. Kristine Kahanek, Chief Meteorologist for KTVT 11, participated in a panel discussion on how to conduct effective media outreach. Tracy Fredin, Director of the Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline University presented a case study about the establishment of the successful Watershed Partners Program in the St. Paul Minnesota region. Today’s environmental education leaders witnessed future leaders in-the-making at the Elm Fork Education Center, where a large group of first graders were enthusiastically (and loudly) learning about watersheds through hands-on learning activities and exhibits.
After lunch Dr. Ken Dickson, Director Elm Fork Education Center presented some of the
preliminary results from a recent survey conducted to assess citizen’s knowledge,
attitudes, and concerns about Water/Watershed issues in the City of Denton and in Denton
County. The initial findings include:
- 50% of citizens think storm water is treated by the wastewater treatment plant
- 52% of citizens think that city and county governments have the most responsibility for maintaining water quality and the citizens themselves have the least responsibility
- 56% don’t know what reservoir provides their drinking water
- 66% don’t know where treated sewage is discharged
- 80% don’t know how much they pay for 1000 gallons of tap water
- 80% think industrial waste discharges are a major or moderate contributor to water pollution
- 85% say that local governments should place a high priority on protection of regional water resources
These results clearly revealed how little the public truly understands about the vital role that water and watersheds play in their daily lives. John Promise, NCTCOG Director of Environment and Development, challenged workshop attendees to act now by collaborating to share and combine information, experience and resources that can be leveraged to conduct more effective public education. Attendees agreed to form a small leadership team tasked with exploring the next steps needed to create a water/watershed education partnership. On May 6th members of the leadership team met for the first time, and will be reporting soon on what’s ahead for this emerging partnership.
The workshop, held at the University of North Texas, was sponsored by UNT’s Texas Center For
Environmental Assessment and Management, the City of Denton Water Utilities, U.S. EPA
Region 6, and NCTCOG. Please direct questions to Dr. Ken Dickson at dickson@unt.edu or (940) 565-2694 or Virgil Helm at (972) 230-6197 or vhelm43@yahoo.com.
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