Water Wise Game

Can you guess the new water wise game that we will be playing with the students in our UWCD in the fall?

Clue #2?


Last Clue!!

(Thanks to Amber & Gale for being a good sport!) (AndGary the photographer...even though i think you would have made a better model!)

Martin County Library

We had another successful morning at the Martin County Library in Stanton for the Permian Basin UWCD. They have such a beautiful building. I enjoyed walking around and looking at all of the artwork they had displayed inside.

We were successful with bringing rain to our area by using our rain sticks (haha). I tried to encouraged the students to come home with me and dance in my husband's cotton fields, but I was declined quickly.

We had a small but enthusiastic group. The kids enjoyed making their rain sticks and seemed to like singing our water saving song at the end of the day.

Permian Basin: http://www.pbuwcd.com/

Kendrick Memorial Library

This morning a presentation was given to a small group at the Kendrick Memorial Library in Brownfield. As we have done at all of the other libraries in our districts, we continued to teach the students about rain sticks.

However, today presentation was different from the others I have given because it actually worked. We have had an inch of rain since this morning. I truly believe it is all due to the rain sticks that we made (haha). We had a great time at the Kendrick Memorial Library and always enjoy the ladies who work there.

Our last day at State Youth Water Camp was focused on helping the students prepare for their speeches at the banquet. The kids did a great job presenting their findings from their specific project groups. All of the adults could see and hear a major improvement in everyone’s public speaking skills. The students received awards for their accomplishments during the week. The guest speaker for the banquet was, Gary Walker of the Sandy Land UWCD.

After having the weekend to reflect on my time in Monahans I have decided that I could not be a professional camp counselor. There were times when I wondered if I could walk one more step, or if I could listen to another kid’s ringtone on their phone. However, after hearing the kids talk at the closing ceremonies about how much fun they had and how much they learned, it was all worth it. They students gained knowledge about water conservation and the water industry that they can carry with them forever,and I am so glad that I could be apart of that. We had a fantastic group of kids and I am looking forward to seeing them again next year.

I would also like to thank Abigail Pritchard, Arlan Gentry and Leo Carrillo for allowing me to participate and experience my first water camp. I look forward to working with you all again soon.

For more information on State Youth Water Camp, visit the Ward County Extension Office website at

http://ward-co.tamu.edu/pubcat.cfm?COUNTY=Ward&CatID=766

Texas Water Camp: Day 4

We had another fun filled day at the Texas State Water Camp. We began early this morning at the Sandhills State Park. We had two presenters give myself and the students an in-depth description of how the Sandhills formed and the history of the land.

Note: wear closed toed shoes when you are going to be walking on sand.

Next we traveled to the Luminant Power Plant in Monahans. We were lucky enough to have the manager of the power plant guide us through a two hour tour of the ends and outs of the plant. Luminant also provided a hamburger lunch for the students after the tour.

After lunch we drove into Odessa to the Water Treatment Plant. The presentation began in the outside facilities and later we were given a detailed presentation in the laboratory. It took everything the kids had not to jump in the giant tanks filled with water.

Our last stop of the day was to the Time Machine Mulch Garden. The Master Gardeners of Odessa discussed with the students the importance of mulch and showed us their Xeriscape garden.

Tomorrow will be our last day here at camp. As I type this blog, the students are working hard to prepare a presentation for members of the community on their project at Texas Water Camp.

Texas Water Camp: Day 3

What a busy day we had at water camp!We started things off very early, or early for me, at 6 a.m. ,to travel to Monahans.

Once we arrived we had a wonderful breakfast at Nancy Christopher’s house. Rick Fowler, a rancher located in Crane, Texas, gave the students a brief presentation on windmills.

Soon after our windmill presentation we hopped in the van and sped away to Coyanosa, Texas ,USA, population 300. Elmer Braden talked to the students about the different types of irrigation used on their family farm. The students were able to see the various crops that he produces including; cotton, corn, peppers, and alfalfa.

After a plentiful lunch at the Coyanosa Community Center, we traveled to Belding Farms Pecan Orchard. Anastacio Alcala and Jimmy Bennet took us on a tour through the pecan orchards and showed us the different types of watering methods they use on their farm. The Belding Orchard produces 10% of the states pecans, and luckily we were able to take hope a small sample of that 10%.

The last stop for the day was the Noble Dairy Farm. We had such a great time learning about their organic dairy farm and their day to day procedures. The ice cream that was provided at the end of the tour was appreciated by the hungry, tired campers.

In closing today’s blog, I have to add a picture of two special guys who helped us out with a little/big problem we had during the hottest time of the day. Thanks to their mechanical skills and my womanly instinct to read the owner’s manual we had that flat fixed in no time!

Texas Water Camp: Day 2

Texas Water Camp : Day 2

What a busy day we had here at water camp. There is so much to talk about that I will just be posting pictures of the presentations/presenters with a brief description of each.

The State of Texas Water
Gary Bryant : Extension Program Specialist

Water Supply
Whitney Milberger-Laird: TWDB

Water Districts
Paul Weatherby: General Manager, Middle Pecos Groundwater

Rainwater Harvesting
Billy Kniffen: Texas Agrilife Water Resource Specialist

Group Lap Work
Logan Boswell: CEA-AG, Brewster/ Jeff Davis Co

Project Group Work
Wade Kirkwood, Logan Lair, Alyson McDonald & Abigail Pritchard

Tomorrow we will have a busy day traveling and site seeing. On the agenda is a windmill tour, Pecan Orchard, Balmorhea State Park, Noble Dairy tour and group presentations. I’m getting tired just typing this all out.