The driving force for the development of the Arroyo Colorado Outreach Campaign is that the Arroyo Colorado is an impaired water body currently not meeting state water quality standards. The goal of the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Education and Outreach Plan is to help address the low dissolved oxygen and high fecal bacteria in the Arroyo Colorado by increasing public awareness and fostering local stewardship in the watershed. The Partnership’s Education and Outreach Work Group developed the following overall objectives for the plan:
- Promote the brand.
- Deliver basic facts about the Arroyo Colorado.
- Raise awareness and increase community involvement in the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership Initiative.
- Develop partnership agreements for message distribution.
- Create micro-campaigns for specific target audiences.
- Institutionalize a practice of ongoing campaign evaluation.
- Establish volunteer monitoring programs on the Arroyo Colorado and associated drainages.
- Collaborate with government agencies offering environmental education and outreach.
- Collaborate with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) supporting environmental education and conservation programs.
Specific Objectives
- Increase public awareness.
- Develop teaching aids such as fact sheets and PowerPoint presentations to educate the public on the importance of the Arroyo Colorado as a resource to the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV).
- Present information on the watershed and implementation projects to LRGV organizations such as Lions Clubs, Boards of Realtors, Chambers of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, recreational groups, city and public utility boards.
- Identify and list other area groups conducting environmental outreach and education.
- Disseminate water quality information relative to the Arroyo Colorado to those groups.
- Work with the other Arroyo Colorado work groups to identify the outreach and education needs that support their identified plan strategies.
- Collaborate with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council in water quality outreach and education efforts.
