Watershed Protection Plan - Lower Rio Grande Valley Development ...

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Fostering local stewardship through outreach and
education is an integral part of the solution to habitat
degradation and poor water quality in the Arroyo
Colorado. Without local stewardship, even resourceintensive
efforts to improve water quality can be
unsuccessful. In turn, stewardship is only possible
after local watershed residents are empowered with
knowledge and develop a willingness to participate
in the stakeholder process. The following sections
describe the Education & Outreach (E&O) Component
of the ACW Protection Plan. Its goal is to help
address the problems of low dissolved oxygen and
high nutrients and bacteria in the Arroyo Colorado
by enhancing public awareness of these issues and
fostering local stewardship in the watershed. The E&O
Component of the ACW Protection Plan was developed
by the Arroyo Colorado Partnership’s E&O Work Group.
It is considered to be the integrating aspect of the
ACW Protection Plan and is recognized by the ACW
Partnership as key to successful implementation of the
entire ACW Protection Plan.
outreach efforts and is based on social marketing
practices. The program helps create a comprehensive
strategy to increase public awareness and involvement,
as well as foster local stewardship. The program steps
are the following:
(1) Defi ne the driving forces, goal and objectives.
(2) Identify and analyze the target audience.
(3) Create the message.
(4) Package the message.
(5) Deliver the message.
Driving Force, Goals and Objectives
The driving force for the development of the
Arroyo Colorado outreach campaign is the fact that the
Arroyo Colorado is an impaired water body currently
not meeting state water quality standards. The goal of
the ACW E&O Plan is to help address the low DO and
high fecal bacteria in the Arroyo Colorado by increasing
public awareness and fostering local stewardship in the
watershed. The ACW Partnership’s E&O Work Group
developed the following overall objectives for the ACW
E&O Plan:
Objectives
• Increase public awareness.
• Develop teaching aids such as fact sheets and
PowerPoint presentations to educate the general
public on the importance of the Arroyo Colorado
as a resource to the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
• Present the watershed planning effort to Valley
organizations such as Lions Clubs, Boards of
Realtors, Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Clubs,
recreational groups, the different city and public
utility boards, etc.
• Identify and list other area groups conducting
environmental outreach and education.
‘Getting in Step’ Cover
‘Getting In Step’ Program
The ACW Partnership’s E&O Work Group followed
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Getting
in Step” program to create the E&O Component of
the ACW Protection Plan (ACW E&O Plan). “Getting
in Step” was developed specifi cally for watershed
• Disseminate water quality information relative to
the Arroyo Colorado to those groups.
• Work with the other Arroyo Colorado Work
Groups to identify the outreach and education
needs that support their identifi ed plan strategies.
• Collaborate with the LRGV Storm Water Task
Force in outreach and education efforts.
• Collaborate with the LRGVDC in water quality
outreach and education efforts.
Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan 90 January 2007