Watershed Awareness Month Theme Contest Still Accepting Submissions
HARRISBURG: Watershed Awareness Month will be celebrated in May, 2005 to encourage Pennsylvanians to learn more about their local watersheds and participate in environmental activities. In anticipation of the fourth celebration, the Watershed Awareness Month Committee needs your help developing a theme that will help convey the importance of volunteerism and community involvement in the restoration and protection of Pennsylvania's watersheds.
The Watershed Awareness Month Committee is "seeking your suggestion for a theme that will capture the essence of Watershed Awareness Month as an month long celebration of events highlighting watersheds as an integral part of everyone's quality of life."
The deadline for submitting theme ideas is November 5, 2004. Theme ideas can be e-mailed to info@pawatersheds.org, subject: WAM Theme Contest, or mailed to POWR, Attn: WAM Theme Contest, 610 North Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101. Students, as well as adults, are encouraged to submit entries.
The winning theme will be chosen by the Watershed Awareness Month Committee - made up of watershed partners representing all parts of the Commonwealth. The winner will receive a Watershed Gift Package, and of course their theme will be used to promote Watershed Awareness Month through May 2005.
For more information on Watershed Awareness Month , visit POWR's Web site at www.pawatersheds.org.
Watershed Awareness Month Theme Contest Being Held
HARRISBURG: Watershed Awareness Month will be celebrated in May, 2005 to encourage Pennsylvanians to learn more about their local watersheds and participate in environmental activities. In anticipation of the fourth celebration, the Watershed Awareness Month Committee needs your help developing a theme that will help convey the importance of volunteerism and community involvement in the restoration and protection of Pennsylvania's watersheds.
The Watershed Awareness Month Committee is "seeking your suggestion for a theme that will capture the essence of Watershed Awareness Month as an month long celebration of events highlighting watersheds as an integral part of everyone's quality of life."
Submissions will start being taken at the 2004 Pennsylvania Watershed Conference being held September 30, 2004 - October 2, 2004, in the Lehigh Valley. Participants can visit the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) display to deposit their suggestions. Theme ideas can also be e-mailed to info@pawatersheds.org, subject: WAM Theme Contest, or mailed to POWR, Attn: WAM Theme Contest, 610 North Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101.
The deadline for submitting theme ideas is November 5, 2004.
The winning theme will be chosen by the Watershed Awareness Month Committee - made up of watershed partners representing all parts of the Commonwealth. The winner will receive a Watershed Gift Package, and of course their theme will be used to promote Watershed Awareness Month through May 2005.
For more information on Watershed Awareness Month , visit POWR's Web site at www.pawatersheds.org.
Celebrate Watershed Awareness Month with FUN
Memorial Day Weekend makes a perfect way to cap off all the hard work, dedication, and activities that contributed to 2004's "May is Watershed Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania. The lakes, and rivers, and streams, and bays are just waiting for paddlers and swimmers, and tubers to enjoy thier waters. Waters that are much cleaner and more useable every year as awareness of watershed issues meets the public at an intersection of action and effort.
Reward yourself for your Watershed Awareness Month efforts by enjoying the waters you help protect. Join a Pennsylvania River Sojourn in June, visit a state park and swim in the jeweled lakes, step out your back door to your favorite fishing spot, or just appreciate a cold drink of water on a warm spring day. Get out and have fun, and thanks for everything you do for Pennsylvania's watersheds!
POWR’s Foray into Blogging for Non-Profits
Visitors to POWR’s PA River Sojourns and Watershed Awareness Month webpages can now view current program happenings posted directly by staff via two new blogs. A "blog" is short for weblog, and is an online journal that will keep you regularly updated on programs, trips, news, views, stories, and related links. At it’s essence, a blog is another automated tool (such as bulletin boards) for sharing information and enlivening a website.
The 2004 PA River Sojourns weblog and the 2004 Watershed Awareness Month weblog are both powered by Blogger.com, a free on-line client and host that allows easy posting without requiring intensive programming or potentially expensive server-software interactions. The benefit of this is that the time spent on the blog focuses on content and not website creation.
Green Media Toolshed makes an interesting note on the value of blogs to the non-profits that utilize them and their constituent members through consideration of the “value of making more of the thinking and learning of the organization available to staff, friends and the public.” GMT also recommends an article by Zafar S. Shah at http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/section/466.html that further “makes a contribution to the chorus pushing nonprofit staff to be more transparent through use of the blog as an easy content tool.”
Both POWR blogs are considered external in that their purpose is sharing project and activity information with a wide public audience. An external blog may also be used for campaign organizing or themed training opportunities. Organizations may alternately choose to utilize blogs internally as training and record keeping tools. Or for updating associated individuals such as Board members about strategic planning or other related progress reports. In this case, it may be preferred to keep the blog on a private section of the organization's server for internal viewing only, as opposed to free hosting online.
The new practice of blogging has quietly taken over the on-line computing world in the last year or two, with notable contributions from Howard Dean’s grassroots campaign at http://blog.deanforamerica.com/, and the NPOblogs site (news from people who are getting things done) at http://www.npoblogs.org.
EVENT SHOWCASE: Kiski-Conemaugh Volunteer Cross-Training Days
Kiski-Conemaugh Volunteer Cross-Training Days, hosted by the Natural Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and the Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team, will be held May 22, 2004, at Greenhouse Park, Johnstown. This is an opportunity to get involved in your watershed by learning how to be a:
Weed Watcher: learn how to identify invasive plant species and/or a Stream Monitor: learn how to evaluate water quality.
The Training Schedule:
9 am -12 noon - Biodiversity presentation followed by invasive plant species identification
1 pm - 4 pm - AMD presentation, water sampling, HACH kit training
Lunch will be provided. Dress appropriately - the training will be held rain or shine.
RSVP - Call (814) 532-5049 now for more information or to reserve your spot at this exciting, informative training. You may
speak to Kylie Daisley: Natural Biodiversity Conservation Strategy(kdaisley@naturalbiodiversity.org)or Roz Robitaille: Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team (rrobitai@kcstreamteam.org)
EVENT SHOWCASE: Bear Creek Festival
"Your family can celebrate spring right now by marking your family’s calendar for the Third Annual Bear Creek Festival to be held on Sunday, May 16 from noon to five at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, Rt. 895, Summit Station."
Read more at the Schuylkill Fairgrounds Bear Creek webpage.
View the Governor's and State Senate's proclamation of Watershed Awareness Month that are scheduled to be on display. Thanks to Ed Wytovich, of EPCAMR and our planning committee, for getting the proclamations out there at an event, and for continuing to share Watershed Awareness Month with folks.
Senate Resolution Designating Watershed Awareness Month
Senate Resolution No. 263 designating May 2004 as "Watershed Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania was introduced and adopted on Monday May 3rd this year. Special thanks to Senator James J. Rhoades from District 29 for sponsoring the legislation.
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth's land, rivers, streams, lakes,
wetlands and groundwater resources are interconnected to form a
rich mosaic of watersheds; and
WHEREAS, These treasured water resources provide citizens
with clean drinking water and recreational and business
opportunities; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth contains 83,000 miles of rivers
and streams for all to enjoy and treasure; and
WHEREAS, There are eight distinct river basins in
Pennsylvania, including Lake Erie, Ohio River, Genesee River
(Lake Ontario), Susquehanna River, Delaware River, Potomac
River, Elk River and Northeast/Gunpowder Rivers; and
WHEREAS, There are 104 watersheds, the basic building blocks
of the natural environment, in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth invests enormous resources to
restore and protect water, including remediating drainage from
thousands of abandoned coal mines which contaminates more than
3,000 miles of streams and associated groundwaters and is the
most extensive problem affecting Commonwealth water resources;
and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth is committed to a watershed
approach to resource management where concerned community
members come together as watershed guardians to address and
resolve problems; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth empowers and assists local
watershed organizations working in partnership as watershed
guardians to help resolve or remediate current water quality and
water quantity problems within watershed boundaries; and
WHEREAS, This watershed approach to environmental protection
leads to cleaner rivers and streams, safer drinking water and
greater protection of aquatic wildlife habitats; and
WHEREAS, There are more than 400 active watershed groups in
this Commonwealth, and new watershed groups are forming
continuously; and
WHEREAS, Educational forums connecting adults and children to
their watersheds, including the land, water and people,
ultimately provide long-term protection for these important and
valuable water resources; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth recognizes and celebrates the
efforts of hardworking volunteers within watershed groups who
improve their communities today and for future generations;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania designate May 2004
as "Watershed Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the theme "Healthy Watersheds, Healthy
Communities" guide the many volunteer community organizations,
educators and other groups that conduct watershed education and
awareness activities throughout the month.
Visit the Pa Legislature site at http://www2.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2003/0/SR0263P1591.pdf to view the resolution as printed.
And as an update to a previous post, the resolution as printed for Safe Drinking Water Week in Pennsylvania, can be viewed at http://www2.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2003/0/HR0642P3579.pdf
