Author: srs0029

AWW Program Staffers Mona and Sydney, along with former AWW Director Dr. Bill Deutsch, had a great few days learning and exploring at the 2024 Environmental Education Association of Alabama Conference at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, AL in mid-February.

The EEAA Conference is always a wonderful opportunity to get to know other environmental educators from all parts of Alabama. Educators who attend are classroom teachers, environmental center instructors, seasonal staff, Extension staff, volunteer organizations, and more.

Continue reading “AWW @ EEAA 2024”

AWW at the 2024 Alabama Water Rally 
By Sergio RuizCordova

Every March for the past 26 years, the Alabama Rivers Alliance holds the Alabama Water Rally to recognize and celebrate notable organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions toward protecting clean water and healthy rivers in Alabama.

AWW has been part of many of those events, conducting water monitoring certification training and celebrating the recognition of the River Heroes and other award winners who may also be AWW monitors. This year, as many others in the past, the Rally was held at the beautiful and unique Camp McDowell at the edge of the Bankhead National Forest in Winston County, Alabama. 

Continue reading “AWW Gets Poetic at Water Rally”

Join us for the 2024 Alabama Water Watch Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 8 at the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center in Auburn, AL! Please refer to this page for details and updates.

REGISTER by May 31!

Continue reading “2024 Alabama Water Watch Annual Meeting”

AWW Staffer Sydney Zinner was joined by AWWesome Volunteer Trainers Hana Berres, Anne Krichten and new Trainer Intern Dr. Cindy Tant at the Birmingham Zoo for a series of Water Chemistry, Bacteriological, and Stream Biomonitoring Trainings. 

Continue reading “Busy Weekend at Birmingham Zoo!”

Jera started with Alabama Water Watch and the AU Water Resources Center in February 2024 and will help with marketing and communications, event organizing, volunteer coordination, data processing, and more! She is a fantastic addition to AWW and the WRC as she is very enthusiastic about her work and brings a positive energy to everything she does!

We’d like to officially welcome Jera to the team and want you all to get to know her a little better through the Q&A below.

Continue reading “Meet Our New Staff Member, Jera Dills!”

Alabama Water Watch, in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, is excited to announce the next round of the water quality monitoring project in the National Forests in Alabama!

Continue reading “National Forest Water Monitoring Trainings”

For the first time, Alabama Water Watch is seeking nominations from program participants and partners to recognize outstanding volunteers.

Nominations will be open through March 5th. Winners will be notified at the end of March and will be presented with their award at the 2024 AWW Annual Meeting in Auburn, AL on Saturday, June 8.

Continue reading “2024 AWW Volunteer Awards: Call For Nominations”

Attention 4-12 grade teachers throughout the state (in ALL COUNTIES!) 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. 

Teachers can apply for a limited number of spots to participate in the required Professional Development Training that will prepare them to conduct bacteriological monitoring and other project activities with their students during the 2024-2025 school year.  Review the description below of the Professional Development Training and how teachers implement the project with their students to decide if this project is a good fit for your classroom.

Continue reading “2024-2025 School Year: 4-H AWW Opportunity for Teachers to Engage Students with Bacteriological Monitoring and Stewardship”

October’s 12 Months of Alabama Aquatic Critters will focus on one of the smaller species found in the State’s waters…aquatic snails!  

Freshwater snails are the “janitors” of the water, grazing on algae and dead plant matter from underwater substrate. Snails have an important role in the food chain, providing meals for crayfish, turtles, fish, and waterfowl.

Dr. Paul Johnson with the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center noted that Alabama is home to approximately 210 freshwater snail species. With such a diversity of species, we are only able to highlight a few, but you can view a more comprehensive list on the Outdoor Alabama website by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Continue reading “Freshwater Snails”

Water Center Staff Carolina Ruiz, Jessie Curl, and Sydney Zinner demonstrated watersheds and water pollution with the Enviroscape Model for the BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose (BCPP), also known as BraveHearts. BraveHearts is a collaborative community program within the AU Social Work Program.  

Continue reading “AUWRC Collaborates with the BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose for Watershed Demonstration “