Author: srs0013

Posted on

Monitor Water Quality on Alabama’s National Forests this Spring!

A beautiful rocky creek bank in the Bankhead National Forest
A stream flowing through the Bankhead National Forest. Photo Credit: Sheila Holifield, USFS.

Since 2019, AWW has been working with the US Forest Service to build a network of citizen scientists to collect valuable water quality data from waterbodies in Alabama’s National Forests (NFALs). To date, volunteer monitors assisting with the project have submitted over 600 water data records from NFALs. You can learn more from the project’s StoryMap.

We are looking for our next cohort of volunteers who can continue the mission of this project and help expand it to new NFAL’s!

Continue reading “Monitor Water Quality on Alabama’s National Forests this Spring!”
Posted on

4-H AWW Opportunity for Teachers to Engage Students with Bacteriological Monitoring and Stewardship

Students conduct bacteriological water tests.
Students conduct bacteriological monitoring on the coast. Photo Credit: Krista Marcum

Attention 4-12 grade teachers who would like an opportunity to engage your students with citizen science and watershed stewardship! 4-H Alabama Water Watch is happy to announce the continuation and expansion of the Exploring Pathogen Pollution in Our Waters Project, which is supported by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bays and Watershed Education Training (BWET) Program.  4-H AWW piloted the project successfully with Coastal Educators during the 2021-2022 school year. In 2023, educators and students from around the state (and beyond) can participate.

Continue reading “4-H AWW Opportunity for Teachers to Engage Students with Bacteriological Monitoring and Stewardship”
Posted on

Students Explore Pathogen Pollution in Our Waters and the Beauty of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta

Saraland High School students and teacher, Ms. Maulucci, stop for a photo after their boat tour of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Photo Credit: Carolina Ruiz

On April 26, 2022, students from Saraland High School participated in the 4-H Alabama Water Watch Student Project Forum held at Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort, AL.

Continue reading “Students Explore Pathogen Pollution in Our Waters and the Beauty of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta”
Posted on

April is Citizen Science Month!

Citizen scientists conduct water chemistry tests on an Alabama stream.
Photo Credit: Mona Dominguez

Have you heard people buzzing about citizen science lately? Did you know April is Citizen Science Month?! It seems that over the last few years, this term has been popping up everywhere. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, citizen science is “scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions.” We also refer to this concept as community-science.; however, this is not a new phenomenon.

Continue reading “April is Citizen Science Month!”
Posted on

AWW Training Recaps: February in Auburn & Camp McDowell in March 

Newly certified Water Chemistry Monitors pose after their Field Day in Town Creek Park, Auburn, Alabama.
Photo Credit: Sydney Zinner

After two years of not being able to easily and safely train new monitors, AWW has been off to the races in 2022!  AWW staff recently led two hybrid AWW monitoring trainings that included self-paced, online courses and finished with an in-person field day. We have been very pleased with the new format. What began as a response to the pandemic is turning out to be a great fit for the program. We hope COVID is on its way out, but the new training model won’t go away.

Continue reading “AWW Training Recaps: February in Auburn & Camp McDowell in March “
Posted on

4-H’ers at Hamilton High School Continue to Watch Our Waters

Sergio and I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon of November 4th with a group of enthusiastic and fun high school students from the Hamilton High School Environmental Club. The Club, led by Kacy Cobb who is a science teacher at the school, has incorporated 4-H AWW monitoring into their club programs for around five years now.  

Continue reading “4-H’ers at Hamilton High School Continue to Watch Our Waters”
Posted on

4-H Alabama Water Watch Educator and Student Recognized by Alabama Wildlife Foundation

Zoe Nye, former 4-H AL Water Watcher, and Jill Wachs, 4-H Regional Extension Agent for Barbour County pose for a quick photo after receiving prestigious awards from the Alabama Wildlife Federation.

AWW would like to extend our congratulations to Jill Wachs and Zoe Nye for being recognized during the recent Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Achievement Awards.  

Continue reading “4-H Alabama Water Watch Educator and Student Recognized by Alabama Wildlife Foundation”
Posted on

COVID-19 Water Monitoring Concerns

Several monitors have asked if they should continue monitoring their sites amid the COVID-19 outbreak. As we know, anytime you participate in water-based activities there are risks for injury and sickness. AWW does its best to provide volunteers with guidance that will hopefully prevent such issues. In an effort to include the newest threats to health, we have reviewed the current information provided by the CDC related to Water Transmission and COVID-19.

Continue reading “COVID-19 Water Monitoring Concerns”