About the Watershed Stewards Academy

Watershed Stewards Academy

The Watershed Stewards Academy (WSA), a 15-class course, is aimed at developing insight and skills in community leaders to help raise awareness about and address watershed issues. Master Watershed Stewards graduate from the Academy by completing the course and a Capstone Project that will reduce watershed pollution at its source. Stewards will also educate their community on the importance and the how-tos pollution reduction.

Your role as a Master Watershed Steward

Photo by Maria Sgambati

Your role as a Master Watershed Steward is to engage and educate citizens, businesses, and organizations within your sub-watershed on relevant environmental issues. You will coordinate small-scale restoration on private property such as installation of rain gardens, green roofs, rain barrels, conservation landscaping and above ground cisterns. Your goal is to reduce the pollutant load carried from the land into our waterways while educating your community about these issues.

Requirements

To become a Master Watershed Steward you will participate in an intensive certification course, including hands-on training in restoration techniques, and carry out a stormwater infiltration project within your sub-watershed. After your certification is complete, you will serve as a resource person and community leader in the effort to clean up our local waterways, continuing to coordinate efforts to infiltrate stormwater and reduce pollutant sources within your sub-watershed.

Support

Photo by Tim Goodfellow

A Consortium of supporting experts will teach Stewards how to educate their neighbors about environmental sustainability, evaluate local conservation needs, and implement watershed restoration projects in their communities. In addition, your classmates will be professionals from a variety of arenas. In many cases your classmates will be your best support.

This is an opportunity to seriously make a difference!

"Master Watershed Stewards" will be supported in action by:

• A Consortium of Support Professionals who provide technical assistance to Master Watershed Stewards by consulting on design and development of watershed restoration projects. They also fulfill the role of a "Speakers Bureau."
• A Tool Box for Sustaining Action with How-to Guides, a Library of Technical and Media Resources, an Inventory of Contacts for Technical Assistance, GIS Resources, etc.

What Is Expected of Stewards?

Photo by Maria Sgambati

Stewards must commit to a 15 session course and complete a Capstone Project. Capstone Projects are developed and executed in teams of two to four, and are to be completed within 6-8 months after the final formal class. Stewards are expected to participate in continuing education to remain an active Master Watershed Steward. Stewards are expected to continue to work in their communities to re-educate their neighbors about the nature of storm water problems and work with them to install storm water and/or pollution reduction projects over a period of years.

Spring 2012 Course of the Watershed Stewards Academy

Course Three begins in Spring 2012 and is geared towards faith leaders interested in reducing pollution at their houses of worship, engaging their faith communities in creation care, and protecting rivers and streams connected to the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. For more information, click here.