RECAP: 2025 AWW Annual Meeting @ Graham Creek Nature Preserve in Foley, AL!
By: Amy Zvonar and Sydney Zinner
We were thrilled to host the 2025 AWW Annual Meeting at the lovely Graham Creek Nature Center in Foley, AL! We gathered with Volunteer Monitors and Trainers, Board Members, program partners, and new friends to celebrate the accomplishments of our AWWesome Volunteers throughout the last year. Read on for a recap of the day!
2025 Volunteer Awards
Congratulations to our 2024-2025 AWWard Winners! Thank you all for your dedication, enthusiasm, and incredible contributions to the AWW Program. You are an integral part of our team!
Science Time with BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose
By: Carolina Ruiz, Amy Zvonar, and Jessie Curl
On a warm, humid, and overcast morning in April, the AWW staff and members of the BraveHeart Center for Place and Purpose met at the Parkerson Mill Creek Greenway on Auburn University’s campus ready for an exciting morning of stream biomonitoring. Rain clouds in the distance were no deterrent; the entire group was eager to see what aquatic mysteries could be found in this shaded section of the creek!
AWW Director Named River Hero!
By Sydney Zinner
Big news! AWW Director Mona Dominguez has been honored with one of Alabama Rivers Alliance’s highest accolades—the River Hero Award!
Mona’s dedication to protecting Alabama’s waterways has made a lasting impact, and we couldn’t be prouder! AWW staff, along with her husband Ariel and daughters Amelia and SJ, were there to celebrate this well-deserved recognition at the Alabama Rivers Alliance Water Rally at Camp Beckwith in Fairhope, AL back in March.
Volunteer Trainers Host Workshop in Anniston!
By: Dana Herren and Sydney Zinner
Volunteer Trainers Dana Herren with Logan Martin Protection Association and Jacksonville River Monitors, and Jonathan Kelly of Wild Alabama, and Volunteer Trainer Intern Jecca Shumate-Thomason with the University of Montevallo, led an Alabama Water Watch Bacteriological and Water Chemistry Monitoring Field Day in Anniston, AL on Saturday, March 22.
They were joined by several program partners who supported the training: Carver Community Center, West Anniston Foundation, Coosa Riverkeepers, Choccolocco Creek Watershed, Wild Alabama, and the Jacksonville River Monitors.
2024 Alabama Water Watch Annual Report
Check out the 2024 Alabama Water Watch Annual Report to see all of the AWWesome achievements of AWW’s Volunteer Monitors, Trainers, Association, and program partners.
If you would like a text-only accessible PDF version of the report, please contact awwprog@auburn.edu
AWW Director Speaks on Citizen Science @ Wild Spotter Ambassador Training
By: Mona Dominguez
AWW Program Director Mona Dominguez was invited to join a panel on Volunteer Citizen-Science Coordination at the 2025 Invasive Species Ambassador Training hosted by Wild Spotter, a nationwide program mapping invasive species. Read on for a recap of Mona’s experience and more about the Wild Spotter program.
Bays and Bayous and the Boggs !
By: Mona Dominguez
AWW Director, Mona Dominguez had the opportunity to participate in the Bays and Bayous Symposium in Biloxi, MS last November. It was a fabulous conference and provided a variety of presentations by leading scientists, educators, and coastal experts from throughout the Gulf region. She gave an oral presentation, that highlighted the successes and importance of the NOAA B-WET funded project that has provided more than 40 educators with training, curriculum, and materials that they have utilized to engage over 1,500 middle and high school students with meaningful watershed experiences that have helped them to understand, identify, detect, and mitigate pathogen pollution.
Continue reading “Bays and Bayous and the Boggs !”2025 Volunteer Awards: Call for Nominations
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 2025 AWW Annual Meeting in Foley, AL on Saturday, June 21.
