AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador Program

Transcription

1 AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador Program

2 Presented by Helen Edwards your watershed ambassador for Watershed Management Area 16 Cape May

3 AmeriCorps A national service initiative started in AmeriCorps was placed under the umbrella of USA Freedom Corps in Programs focuses on five areas: Public Safety Environment Human Need Education Homeland Security Since 1994, 400,000 have served in AmeriCorps, providing needed assistance to millions of Americans

4 AmeriCorps State and National AmeriCorps funding is distributed to Governor appointed State Commissions, which in turn distribute and monitor grants to local nonprofits and agencies. The NJ State Commission on Community and National Service is housed within the NJ Department of State. This year, New Jersey was awarded 1 national funded grant and 16 state funded grants.

5 AmeriCorps + NJDEP = NJ Watershed Ambassador Program Hosted by NJ Department Environmental Protection s Division of Watershed Management since Members act as liaisons between DWM and the community. Focus on community education, outreach & stewardship

6 NJ s 20 Watershed Management Areas

7 Accomplishments Over the past six years Watershed Ambassadors have: Completed over 3,000 visual assessments and over 1,600 biological assessments on local waterways Presented over 3,200 Enviroscape demonstrations Generated volunteerism with over 40,000 hours of community participation Formed over 120 sustaining partnerships Fed and clothed the homeless throughout NJ Planted over 2,000 trees and clean up 25 tons of trash from streams

8 AmeriCorps and Division of Watershed Management Watershed Education and Outreach Schools Civic Organizations General Public Watershed Monitoring Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL( TMDL s) Land use or Ground Truthing Targeted Stream Segments Nonpoint Source & Watershed Grant Projects Volunteer recruitment and training

9 Host Agencies NJRCD Sussex County MUA Skylands CLEAN PVSC Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc. Great Swamp Education Center Union County Parks Dept. Upper Raritan Watershed Association NJ Water Supply Authority Stony Brook Millstone Wtrshd. Assoc. DRBC Monmouth County Office of Plng. Forest Resource Education Center J.C. Nat l Estuarine Research Res. ACUA Cape May County Planning Cumberland County Impr.Auth. NJDEP: Southern Enforcement Rancocas Conservancy Mercer County SCD Members Represent 3 Organizations

10 Role of Host Agency Provide Office Space and Supplies Daily Supervision Guidance and support for members and objectives Knowledge of local area and community

11 Member Objectives Topic Areas: Needs & Services Member Development Community Strengthening

12 Needs and Services Members give at least 30 watershed related presentations per WMA. They complete 30 Visual Assessments and 20 Biological Assessments on targeted waterways. Members implement a volunteer monitoring program by facilitating at least 5 monitoring trainings per WMA to community groups.

13 Public Education and Outreach

14 Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) Project WILD (Wildlife in Learning Design) NJ WATERS (Watershed Approach to Teaching the Ecology of Regional Systems)

15 Visual Assessments

16 Visual Monitoring Training

17 What is a Watershed A watershed is the area of land, based on topography, that drains to a particular water body.

18 Options for Involvement Tier A: Environmental Education Tier B: Stewardship Tier C: Community Assessment Tier D: Indicators

19 Tier A: Environmental Education Data Users Participants Students Watershed residents Data Use Promote stewardship Raise their level of understanding of watershed ecology Quality Needed Low level of rigor, but use sound science Wide variety of study designs are acceptable Quality assurance (QA) optional

20 Tier B: Stewardship Data User Data Use Quality Needed Participants Watershed residents Landowners Local decision makers (optional) Gain understanding of existing conditions and how any changes over time Screen for and identify problems and positive attributes Low to medium rigor Variety of study designs is acceptable QAPP desirable

21 Tier C: Community and/or Watershed Level Assessment Data Users Data Use Quality Needed Local decisionmakers Watershed association Environmental organizations Possibly DEP Assess current conditions Track trends Source track down of Nonpoint source pollution Medium level of rigor Data needs to reliably detect changes over time and space Study design is focused on pollution sources QAPP required

22 Tier D: Indicators (visual and biological assessments, and water quality) Data Users Data Use Quality Needed Assess current Medium to high conditions and level of rigor NJDEP impairments Local decisionmakers Watershed associations Environmental organizations Supplement agency data collection Research Evaluate best management practices (BMP) measures Study design and methods need to be equivalent and recognized by agencies using data Training required QAPP required

23 Biological Assessments Collecting the sample Stream side sampling

24 Volunteer Monitoring and AmeriCorps Members train volunteers for the sole purpose of stewardship.

25 Volunteer Monitoring and AmeriCorps Data collected from Members fits into Tier B (Biological)) and Tier C (Visual( Visual). Opportunities for increased rigor, Tier C or D, exist depending on the use of the data.

26 Volunteer Monitoring and AmeriCorps All visual and biological data will be collected, reviewed, and distributed to data users within the Division and the Department.

27 Member Development Citizenship training- Members will identify 2 municipalities for future interviews & attendance at town meetings Post program career plans for each member Evaluated on ability to conduct and lead monitoring techniques

28 Strengthening Communities Partnership between two local entities Examples include: Storm drain markings Stream clean ups Restoration projects 400 Volunteer Hours 200 Volunteer Monitoring 200 Watershed Stewardship Projects Watershed Project with Host Agency

29 Additional Sample Projects Community Day Events Water Festivals Storm Drain Labeling Volunteer Monitoring Trainings Watershed Hikes/Tours Stream Cleanups Tree Plantings Coordinate Water Quality Monitoring Efforts for either Visual or Biological Methods Other Water Quality Enhancement Projects

30 Additional Projects NJDEP Clean Water Act 319(h) Restoration Surveys Urban Watershed Education Angler Surveys Wetlands Violations Host Agencies National Service Days Groups within WMA

31 Any Questions????????