(49) Becoming Outstanding in the Field: Resources to Help Volunteer Monitoring Programs Get Started

Linda Green¹, Elizabeth Herron¹, Robin Shepard², and Art Gold^1
1University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension, Kingston, RI
²University of Wisconsin-Extension, Madison, WI

Concurrent Session: C3:  The Role of Extension in Community and Volunteer Programs - Part I

Cooperative Extension plays a unique role in extending University research and knowledge to local communities and plays a valuable role in water quality education and environmental stewardship through volunteer monitoring programming. These monitoring efforts lead to increased awareness of water quality issues in local communities and to implementation of locally driven water quality improvement projects involving a full spectrum of the community from farmers to inner city residents.

The Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Facilitation Project has built a comprehensive support system for volunteer water quality monitoring efforts. Harnessing the know-how from the many existing volunteer monitoring programs, we developed “a Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Programs” as the centerpiece for our efforts. This Guide provides succinct, comprehensive and timely information from successful programs, packaged as a suite of factsheet learning modules. For instance, modules exist to help programs design a monitoring strategy, effectively train volunteers and support them over time, ensure data credibility, and plan a data management system.

This presentation will provide participants with an overview of the Guide for Growing Programs and resources cited within it, as well as copies of the Guide for participants to utilize following the conference. Additional resources on the flagship website will also be highlighted.

Kristine Stepenuck
University of Wisconsin-Extension
445 Henry Mall Room 202
Madison WI 53706-1577
Phone: 608-265-3887
Fax: 608-262-2031
kfstepenuck@wisc.edu