Arbor Day
Arbor Day events run the spectrum from poster contests to community
tree plantings. It offers a unique opportunity to promote the
value of trees with respect to water quality, especially for preventing
soil erosion.
See more on planning an Arbor Day
special event.
County Fairs
County fairs can be a perfect place to promote water resource
conservation. This may be done through personal contact, or via
unmanned displays, flyers, and other appropriate means. A rule
of thumb is to keep the contact short, sweet and catchy, because
people are usually passing through rather quickly. Try to take
just a minute or two of their time, but remember to make that
minute a marvelous one!
See more on planning a County Fair
activity.
Earth Day
Planning events or activities for Earth Day might not be as daunting
as it seems. Many of the activities conducted water resource professionals
such as watershed festivals, canoe floats, tours, trash pick-up,
field days, or poster contests can simply be re-titled and fine-tuned
to fit the Earth Day theme. Fortunately, there are also a myriad
of websites out there that can help to get a program off the ground.
Activities can be low maintenance and inexpensive such as a poster
contest, or highly charged and more costly as in the case of a
full-scale Earth Day event.
See more on planning an Earth Day
special event.
Earth Science Week
Earth Science Week is sponsored by the American Geological Institute,
and is generally held in October. The goal of the week is to highlight
earth science. Specific objectives include giving students new
opportunities to discover the earth sciences, to highlight contributions
that earth scientists make to society, to publicize the fact that
earth science is all around us, to encourage stewardship of the
earth, and to develop a way for geoscientists to share knowledge.
A packet of information is available from the Institute offering
ways to celebrate the week.
See more on planning an Earth
Science Week event.
Soil and Water Stewardship Week
Soil and Water Stewardship Week is an excellent time to involve
the religious community in water conservation efforts. Schools,
community organizations and others might also become involved.
Early in the winter a packet of materials about Soil and Water
Stewardship Week is sent from the National Association of Conservation
Districts (NACD). Enclosed in the packet are educational materials,
religious materials, graphics, fact sheets, ideas for activities,
and other pertinent information. Traditionally, Soil and Water
Stewardship Week is observed between the last Sunday in April
and the first Sunday in May, although it can be held at anytime.
An annual theme is selected each year. Past themes have included
Community Waters, the Living Waters, In the Children's Hands
and Habitat for Life.
Water Festivals
Many natural resource organizations host water festivals for
the general public and/or school groups. A water festival is a
gathering, large or small, of citizens, young and old, from a
specific watershed or county. This type of event is usually free
and features displays, hands-on activities, food, informational
handouts and community service projects. Typically people move
from station to station to learn about watersheds, water quality
and water conservation. While hosting this community event, you
can make the public aware of your organization's activities and
services.
See more on planning a Water Festival.