A Texas Watershed Steward workshop on water quality related to Geronimo and Alligator creeks will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on May 25 in Seguin.
The event will be presented by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.
The workshop will be held at the AgriLife Extension office in Guadalupe County at 210 E. Live Oak St. It is free and open to anyone interested in improving water quality in the region.
Preregistration is required at https://tx.ag/TWSReg or by calling 979-862-4457. Once registered, additional meeting information will be provided.
A virtual attendance option is also available. For in-person attendees who register by May 22, a free lunch will be provided courtesy of the AgriLife Extension office.
Attendees of the workshop will receive a copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Handbook and are eligible to earn a certificate of completion.
Water resources education, involvement
“This workshop is designed to help watershed residents learn about their water resources and how they may become involved in local watershed protection and management activities,” said Michael Kuitu, AgriLife Extension program specialist and coordinator for the Texas Watershed Steward program, Bryan-College Station.
The workshop will include a discussion on watershed systems, along with types and sources of water pollution. There also will be a group discussion on community-driven watershed protection and management and an overview of water quality as it relates to watershed management at the local level.
“These waters are truly important resources,” said Evgenia Spears, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension program specialist and watershed coordinator for Geronimo and Alligator creeks, Bryan-College Station.
“We are currently in the implementation phase of our watershed protection plan and are always looking for additional stakeholder input,” she said. “The Texas Watershed Steward program provides a platform to do just that.”
Continuing education opportunities
The Texas Watershed Steward program offers continuing education units for multiple professional disciplines. The quantity of continuing education offered may vary for select disciplines, depending on in-person or virtual attendance.
For those who attend in-person, four hours of continuing education will be offered for the following professional disciplines: soil and water management for certified crop advisers; professional engineers; certified teachers; professional geoscientists; certified landscape architects; and certified floodplain managers.
Four hours of continuing education is also available for each of the following Texas Commission on Environmental Quality occupational licensees: wastewater system operators, public water system operators, on-site sewage facility installers and landscape irrigators. American Institute of Certified Planners professional planners are eligible for four certification maintenance hours and one law hour.
Three general CEUs are offered for Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide applicator license holders, and two credits are offered for nutrient management specialists.
Funding for this effort is provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on the Texas Watershed Steward program, visit the website or contact Kuitu at 979-862-4457, michael.kuitu@ag.tamu.edu; or Travis Franke, AgriLife Extension agent for Guadalupe County, at 830-303-3889, travis.franke@ag.tamu.edu.
For more information on the Geronimo and Alligator creeks watershed, contact Spears, at 979-845-2862, evgenia@tamu.edu.
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