Outreach

Nanticoke Watershed Alliance’s (NWA) outreach programs educate and empower watershed residents to improve local water quality. Through outreach, the NWA discusses water quality issues and long-term trends in water quality demonstrated through Nanticoke Creekwatchers data. The NWA reaches over 100 residents annually through workshops and an additional 1,000 residents through community presentations and events. The NWA provides outreach through the following means:

• Hosting Homeowner Workshops in watershed towns that focus on backyard conservation actions, such as rain barrels/rain gardens, soil testing/appropriate fertilizer use, home-based water conservation and water quality improvements, living shorelines, and other topics.
• Partnering with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Delaware Nature Society, and other organizations in the Reclaim Our River (ROR) series, which focuses on water quality improvement and increased recreational use of the river in the Delaware portion of the watershed.
• Targeting specific behavior or action through specific campaigns, such as the Living Shorelines campaign that is funded through the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
• Attending community festivals, fairs, and events and directly engaging watershed residents through conversation.
• Presenting water quality data and issue information to community organizations and groups.

The NWA’s outreach “season” roughly runs from February through October of each year. Please visit the Outreach page for more information about this year’s workshop opportunities, ROR happenings, and community engagement events or to schedule a presentation with your community group.

Environmental Education

Nanticoke Watershed Alliance educates students and teachers on the importance of the Nanticoke River system, natural resources, watersheds, water quality, and how the community can help. For the past two years, the NWA has worked with seventh graders from North Dorchester Middle School and Mardela Springs Middle and High Schools.

The NWA gives in-class Enviroscape presentations that examine nonpoint source pollution and discuss conservation actions that can be taken to reduce pollution. In addition, the NWA hosts field trips at Horn Point and field days on school grounds that provide interactive learning stations that focus on water quality, water conservation, soil health, wildlife, forestry, and other issues. Student-based action projects have been responsible for planting nearly 400 trees at Cherry Beach and Cope Bennett Park in Sharptown and for installing composting tumblers and raised beds to support organic produce for school lunches.

For more information, please visit the Environmental Education page.