Summer Wrap Up

I have been working on an article for the South Plains UWCD Newsletter that is an overview of all the activities that the Education Cooperative has done throughout the summer. I am amazed at how we were able to squeeze all of those events into just a few months. When I took this job, over a year ago, I would have never of thought I would be lugging giant suitcases around the state capitol, sleeping in tin buildings or flying in shoe boxes across the county. However, with all of those experiences behind me I feel that I and the program have grown so much in one year. I look forward to continuing to help the program move in a positive direction and I am excited for what is yet to come…

The following is the article I wrote for the newsletter…..

What a busy summer it has been for me, working with four underground water conservation districts. It seems like I have been around the world and back learning different techniques and meeting new people associated with the water conservation industry. I feel that we have had a successful year promoting our program and showing not only state-wide, but nationally, what our cooperatives goals are and what we are looking to do in the future. I am excited to see where our program will be by this time next year.

Water Conservation Day at the Capitol

On Thursday, May 21st, the Texas Water Foundation hosted Water Conservation Day at the Capitol. The event was held at the Texas State Capitol so that members of the state legislature could be exposed to the water conservation programs in our state. As policy makers considered important water conservation legislation, knowledge of existing programs is helpful.
Our program was one of the ten groups that participated during this event. A summary of our existing programs was created by using pictures of selected activities and a brief explanation of each. The display highlighted the individual water districts within the cooperative and also illustrated the importance of the cooperative program. I also enjoyed getting to know Carole Baker of the Subsidence District. We appreciate all her hard work on putting this event together.

Nebraska Children’s Groundwater Festival
I volunteered at the 21st annual Children’s Groundwater Festival in Grand Island, Nebraska. The festival is sponsored by the Central Platte Natural Resources District and was held at the Central Community College in Grand Island.
The purpose of my trip, was to get an inside look at what it takes to host a groundwater festival. I was also eager to learn new programs and presentations that we might implement in our program.
This year’s festival hosted over one thousand fourth and fifth grade students from the state of Nebraska. Three-hundred volunteers and local and state wide sponsors helped make the festival successful. Students were taught the physical properties of water by making and launching their own water rockets. Other topics addressed were rain sticks, mapping & conservation.

Texas State Water Camp
The 17th annual State Youth Water Camp was held at the George and Opal Bentley Center in Monahans, Texas. This year's camp took place July 12th through the 16th.
The camp’s objective was to help make Texas high school youth aware of current water issues and to develop an appreciation of how agriculture, industry, municipalities and home water use impact water quality and quantity. Fourteen students from around the state were excited to spend the week learning about the importance of water conservation.
I enjoyed getting to know the students and staff during our many field trips and classroom activities. We look forward to the 2010 camp and anticipate sponsoring students from the SPUWCD.

Blog & Twitter
The Education Cooperative blog was created in 2009 so the communities in our groundwater districts could be aware of various activities and programs we offer. It is also a way to promote our happenings not only state-wide by nationally as well. I maintain the blog with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. To view the Education blog go to http://www.savingh20.blogspot.com/

The Education Program is also an active member on twitter. Twitter is increasingly used for commercial organizations to tell customers "what's new." In addition, politicians and celebrities use it to keep constituents and fans informed. You can follow our tweets via our website at www.savingh2o.org or by becoming a follower on twitter through our username - savingh2o.