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Impacts and Accomplishments
Educating Young People About Water (EYPAW) resources are designed for
leaders including educators, natural resource managers, youth leaders, and member of watershed groups.
Whether on their own, in a community team, or in a workshop, leaders can use the EYPAW guides and video
to:
- Plan and evaluate their programs in relation to local water issues
- Choose curricula appropriate to the learners
- Work in partnership with local experts
- Improve the ability of young people to manage and protect water.
Supporting Leaders
With increased emphasis on community water issues, leaders need a convenient and comprehensive way to
find the best water education resources that meet local needs.
Educating Young People About Water supports educators by helping them:
Gain access to community water education materials.
EYPAW guides and videos are used by water education leaders to find and apply appropriate
resources and program models. Approximately 60,000 people have learned about our materials
through direct mail, conference displays, and newsletter. National distributors, with a
circulation of more than 200,000, list our materials in their catalogs. The Educating Young
People About Water web site, www.uwex.edu/erc/eypaw/, offers the opportunities to download
guides and access a database of 143 water-related curricula.
Build community teams and integrate water issues into youth programs.
- Through more than 50 training opportunities, 2,500 natural resource professionals and
educators have the skills to integrate water issues into youth programs, to identify
community water education goals, and to facilitate team building for community water
education.
- 75 facilitators trained through our workshops provided their own regional training
sessions.
Building and Fostering Partnerships
Cooperative Extension's investment in youth water education has been based on collaboration between
Extension, and national agencies and organizations. Community and national partners have been involved
in the creation of accurate materials and cost effective dissemination of training and resources.
EYPAW increases adoption of community-based approaches and a needs assessment strategy.
- Our needs assessment and dissemination strategy was adopted by other organizations (the
American Fisheries Society, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and National 4-H Council) in
developing their own resource books on fisheries, birds, and energy.
- Several organizations, including Oregon State's 4-H and Oregon University Outreach, have
adopted our community-based philosophy of water education planning as the foundation for local
training programs.
Partners work together to improve local water quality.
In response to identified curriculum and programming gaps, partners recommended the development of a
new resource that would guide youth in identifying community water concerns and conducting water service
projects.
That resource became Give Water A Hand.
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