One of the most important tasks of any watershed group is building awareness within the local community.  The following quote says it all.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love.
We will love only what we understand.
We will understand only what we are taught.”
-Baba Dioum

A significant and ongoing priority of GRCI is generating awareness in the local community about the challenges facing the watershed and to provide education about the watershed and the benefits of implementing solutions.  Building awareness through actions and strategies targeted specifically at the stakeholders living in the Greater Redstone watershed to elevate awareness and understanding of the issues facing the watershed is a key component in implementing successful solutions.  Toward that end, an ongoing effort is aimed at awareness and education.

A necessary function of a watershed group such as GRCI is educating stakeholders about the challenges, solutions, and benefits of watershed related issues.  For many individuals, the sheer fact that the problems have existed as far as anyone can remember results in a kind of acceptance, an attitude of "That's just the way it is."  Apathy, indifference, ignorance, and defeatism are all among the "human" challenges facing any group trying to make a difference.  Building awareness thus becomes a key component in implementing successful solutions.

Watershed and environmental issues unfortunately are not subjects in which the general population has a very high awareness level.  Part of our job is to elevate the awareness levels with as many people as possible using as many mechanisms as we can.  Providing a convenient source of information about our watershed and watershed-related issues in general is seen as an integral function of GRCI.  This web site is part of the initiative to elevate the issues in the public mind.  Our newsletter, the Redstone Current, and informational brochures are other ways we reach out to the public concerning watershed issues.  We also maintain an archive of newspaper articles about GRCI.  and we have hosted a number of community workshops to provide discussion forums for watershed issues.  In addition, we have appeared on local radio talk shows and participated in community events to raise awareness about watershed issues.

As part of GRCI's ongoing educational outreach, California University of Pennsylvania collaborated with GRCI on an abandoned mine drainage water quality monitoring project in the fall of 2004. We are also helping to support the Fayette County Children's Water Festival, a countywide environmental education initiative through the Fayette County Conservation District.

You can help!  There's lots of room for creativity in getting the message out.  Some other ways are making presentations to school classes and groups, holding special events, doing environmental projects, getting newspaper coverage of activities and events, writing letters to the editor, publishing newsletters, getting kids involved (and maybe involving the parents, too), email and Internet chat.

If you'd like to bring your talents to building awareness and promoting education about the environment, the watershed, and GRCI, please consider joining GRCI and becoming a volunteer.

Test your water quality knowledge with our online lessons (developed by Bruce Golden)

How does a clean, healthy watershed benefit me?

People often ask why should we care about having a clean, healthy environment. Solutions to these problems offer numerous benefits to our community. Improved aesthetics of our natural environment strengthens civic and community pride. Improved water quality offers health benefits to watershed residents drinking untreated water from wells, as well as animals and livestock drinking water from wells or directly from the streams, while reducing the need for expensive drinking water treatment systems.

The economic benefits of a clean, healthy watershed include:

• Increased redevelopment from an area that is more aesthetically attractive as a business location and as a place to live, work, and play.
• Increased property values
• Jobs and income created through increased tourism and recreation opportunities related to fishing, hiking, biking, canoeing, camping, photography, bird watching, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, gardening, swimming, hunting, etc. Tourism is a major part of the economy in our area. Outdoor recreation also offers human health benefits in the form of increased opportunity for exercise.
• Resource recovery from AMD treatment systems