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Texas Watershed Stewards Workshop

Make a Splash With The Texas Watershed Steward Program!

Did you know that you, and everyone around you, live in a watershed? A watershed is an area of land that water flows across, through, or under as it drains into a stream, river, lake, ocean, or other body of water. Because we all live in a watershed, things we do at home and where we work and play can affect water quality and the health of our watershed. In Texas alone, nearly 92 percent of the streams, rivers, and lakes are impacted by some form of water pollution.

What can be done? Well, protecting water quality begins with you and those in your community and there is help to get started. The Texas Watershed Steward program is a one-day training event sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service (formerly Texas Cooperative Extension) and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board in coordination with the River Systems Institute. It is designed to help watershed residents improve and protect their water resources by getting involved in local watershed protection and management activities.

Texas Watershed Stewards learn about watershed systems, water quality regulation and monitoring, methods to improve water quality, and community-driven watershed protection and management. The training also provides the basic knowledge and tools needed to form a watershed action group, participate in and organize local watershed activities, and become more involved in protecting and enhancing your community water resources.

The next training event will take place in Hays County which is home to the Cypress Creek Watershed. The watershed is located between the two major metropolitan areas of Austin and San Antonio and is easily accessed by major roadways. This region is undergoing rapid urbanization which has created water quality concerns for Cypress Creek, the Hays-Trinity Aquifer, and its surrounding areas.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the River Systems Institute, along with other stakeholders, have been working on a plan to improve the water quality in the Cypress Creek Watershed. You can be a part of the solution by attending this event.

All program participants will receive a free day of education and training, a free copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Curriculum Handbook, free prizes and gifts, and a certificate of completion. In addition, the program will provide a total of 7 Continuing Education Units (Soil and Water Management) for Certified Crop Advisors, 7 SBEC Continuing Professional Education credits for certified teachers, and 3 Continuing Education Units (General) for TDA Pesticide License holders.

The training program will be held in Wimberley on Thursday, October 22nd from 8am-4pm at the Wimberley Community Center on 14068 Ranch Road 12. Pre-registration is now open and required for participation. Texas Watershed Stewards is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in your watershed.

For more information and to get your name on the pre-registration list, please visit the Texas Watershed Steward website at http://tws.tamu.edu or call/email Jennifer Peterson at 979-862-8072/ jlpeterson@ag.tamu.edu.

 

Cypress Creek Workshop on October 22, 2009, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
At the Wimberley Community Center
14068 Ranch Road 12 Wimberley, TX 78676

To Pre-register, visit www.tws.tamu.edu.