As program coordinators, we can easily get wrapped up in numbers, reporting, and data, which are all vital things to the program, but not the focal point. We are starting off 2023 by re-centering our focus on what really matters, our volunteers! After all, Alabama Water Watch is just as much about people as it is about water. There is no AWW without dedicated volunteers who collect credible water data, educate others in their community about water issues, and advocate locally for protection and restoration of waterways .
Staffer Sergio RuizCórdova instructing Water Chemistry monitoring with Cheaha workshop participants. Photo credit: Sydney Zinner
Each AWW staff member sincerely cares about each of our Volunteer Monitors, Trainers, Board Members, and project and community partners; however, with such a small staff, it can be difficult to reach out to everyone to let them know they are valued and appreciated.
Monitors who were trained by a Volunteer Trainer or are new to the program may not have met any of us yet. We are a small group of dedicated folks who want to make a difference in Alabama, just like our volunteers.
Staffer Carolina Ruiz teaches Water Chemistry Monitoring methods to ACES Staff. Photo credit: Sydney Zinner
AWW Staff’s New Year’s Resolution is to prioritize connecting with our volunteers and providing new avenues of support. Read on to see what we are doing in 2023.
290 monitors were certified or recertified in 2022 by Volunteer Trainers and AWW Staff around Alabama. It’s been a wonderful and busy year!
Over 700 folks completed* our online courses, marking a great first full year of using them for our Monitoring Trainings! *Completion is defined as individuals who completed the entire course with 80% accuracy or above.
Here are some of the highlights from AWW Staff Trainings. 2023 dates are listed at the end of this post and can be found on the AWW Events Calendar.
AWW Staffers Mona and Sydney were up in beautiful Florence, AL in early November to train the AWWesome staff from the Lauderdale County Extension Office and a former 4-H AWW student monitor who is now a teacher using AWW with her own students!
On August 19, AWW Staffers Mona and Sydney headed to Prattville to conduct a Water Chemistry and Bacteriological Monitoring Field Day in partnership with Alabama Watershed Stewards (AWS).
July 1 marked the midpoint of the year and, as we enter the second half of the year, just in case your New Year’s Resolution was to be very consistent with your Alabama Water Watch monitoring, this is a good point to check out your data. You can make sure all the data you have collected has been entered and is appearing in AWW Water Data.
This is an excellent time to ask yourself how you have progressed towards reaching your monitoring goals. Have you gone out as frequently as you had planned? If you wanted to add a new sampling site, did you do it? If you have not achieved your mid-year goals, take some time to reflect, and consider why, so you can adjust accordingly.
In late July 2022, AWW teamed up with Benjamin Moore Company (yes – the paint people!) to host an Exploring Our Living Streams (EOLS) Educator Workshop to teach educators how to help their students learn about stream biomonitoring and watershed stewardship.
The EOLS workshop was held at Benjamin Moore’s facility in Pell City, Alabama, which included a wonderful outdoor classroom and access to Fishing Creek in the Coosa River Basin.
Read more about the workshop and Benjamin Moore’s environmental education program below!
Paul Tomaszewski with Benjamin Moore and AWW Staff Sergio RuizCordova kick off the workshop at the Outdoor Classroom at Benjamin Moore’s protected wetland and wildlife area. Photo credit: Mona Dominguez
“Green infrastructure is an approach to water management that protects, restores, or mimics the natural water cycle. They are effective, economical, and enhance community safety and quality of life. It means planting trees and restoring wetlands, rather than building a costly new water treatment plant.” – American Rivers
Select stops from the June 2022 AU Campus Green Infrastructure Tour. Diagram by Sydney Zinner
We were so excited to be back at it again in person! Volunteers, Trainers, AWWA Board Members, past and present AWW Staff, and partners gathered to celebrate 30 Years of Alabama Water Watch and the accomplishments of our volunteers!
Congratulations to our 2021-2022 AWWard Winners! Thank you all for your dedication, enthusiasm, and incredible contributions to the AWW Program. You are an integral part of our team!
Tufts of the freshwater red alga Paralemanea near the Easley Covered Bridge near Oneonta, Alabama. Photo Credit: Stacy Krueger-Hadfield
There is incredible biodiversity in the state of Alabama – including freshwater snails, mussels, fish, and turtles. However, much of our biodiversity remains enigmatic. One group of organisms we lack critical information about are freshwater red macroalgae. Though rarely truly red in color, they provide food and habitat for macroinvertebrates and may serve as indicators of good water quality. However, they are not included in current biodiversity surveys in Alabama. To better understand the ecological role and potential usefulness of these algae as bioindicators, we first need to figure out where to find them.
This is where Alabama Water Watch monitors come in! We are asking for your help in identifying potential freshwater red algal habitat by taking photos of freshwater streams including your monitoring sites. The Krueger-Hadfield Lab will examine the photographs to assess whether they may provide good freshwater red habitat and to determine if they should be included in their surveys. In the future, they plan to provide training and supplies for interested AWW monitors to collect and send algal samples to the Krueger-Hadfield Lab at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
A step-by-step video on how to submit your site photos to the Red Alga Citizen Science from the University of Birmingham’s Krueger-Hadfield Lab. Video Credit: Alabama Water Watch
How to submit your photo:
Take a HORIZONTAL photo of your waterbody (this does not have to be your AWW monitoring site), from the middle of the waterbody of possible, or from the bank
If riffles (areas of fast-moving water over rock or woody debris) are present, include them in your photo
