A visitor at South Carolina's display
A Monthly On-Line Newletter for Home*A*Syst Coordinators, Partners and Friends
At Home with the National Office - Source Water Protection and Home*A*Syst"Safe drinking water is everyone's concern." This is the basic premise for a new pamphlet that highlights the role of Farm*A*Syst and Home*A*Syst programs in addressing the important areas of source water protection. With funding from EPA Office Drinking Water and Groundwater, the national office has developed a pamphlet and press releases that encourage and support individual actions to protect drinking water. The materials make the case for both Farm*A*Syst and Home*A*Syst as effective tools. A series of press releases highlight opportunities for individuals to take action and can be timed for an appropriate seasonal publication. For example, suggested actions deal with spring cleaning and yard and garden care. The pamphlet and press releases can assist educators in their efforts to work with communities to protect public drinking water supplies. These materials are a key part of a demonstration project, the Sparta Source Water Protection Education Program. The Sparta project combines different approaches (home and farm assessments, youth education, media campaign, Groundwater Guardian designation) to achieve multiple benefits related to protection of an aquifer that supplies drinking water to communities in Arkansas and Louisiana. As part of this project, Farm*A*Syst and Home*A*Syst will be delivered to about 200 farms and homes. The pamphlet and press releases (septic systems, lawn and garden care, well maintenance, spring cleaning, on-farm pesticide use and manure management) are now available on-line. A Spanish version of the pamphlet is available as well.
If you are interested in learning more about source water protection or would like to discuss tailoring the pamphlet to include specific information for your state program, contact Richard Castelnuovo, National Farm*A*Syst/Home*A*Syst Office, 608-265-3727, or rcasteln@facstaff.wisc.edu. |
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ FUNDING OPPORTUNITY $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $TITLE: WATERSHED ASSISTANCE GRANTSSUMMARY: These grants support the growth and sustainability of local watershed partnerships. A "watershed partnership" includes interested and affected parties in the identified watershed. This coalition of targeted stakeholders will serve to promote watershed protection and/or restoration by resolving identified watershed problems and issues. Grants range from $1,500 - $30,000. DEADLINE: August 15, 2000 MORE INFO: For more information and an application, go to the Watershed Assistance Grants web page: http://www.rivernetwork.org/ |
South Carolina Home*A*Syst efforts have kicked into high gear! Dr. Barbara Speziale, state Water Quality Coordinator and editor of South Carolina Home*A*Syst, Rex Blanton, South Carolina's new Home*A*Syst Coordinator, and Cal Sawyer, editor of the soon-to be published Coast*A*Syst, have combined efforts to expand the program to all corners of the state. Since the first publication of South Carolina's Home*A*Syst materials in 1998, the program has focused on non-point source pollution prevention. Program activities currently include including youth water quality education, source water protection efforts, exhibits and demonstrations at community events and lake fairs groundwater models, and the development of additional education materials. Current South Carolina Home*A*Syst chapters include Site Assessment, Stormwater Management, Managing Hazardous Household Products, Septic Systems and Yard and Garden Care. A new chapter on Protection of Home Drinking Water will be published in Fall 2000.
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A visitor at South Carolina's display |
Several professionally designed Home*A*Syst displays and ground water models are used by the program coordinators and Extension agents to educate festival participants and to entice them to become interested in water quality protection. Festivals have proven to be good venues to meet one on one with homeowners to discuss their environmental concerns. To attract and stimulate the interest of children, water-related games and activities are also provided, including: water ball toss, bubble blowing contest, questions and answers, coloring contest, and the wet-man contest. One visitor said that it was "almost as much fun and as much "wetness" as being in the dunking booth, and a whole lot more educational!" Since the start of year, South Carolina Home*A*Syst has contacted more than 500 South Carolinians through these exhibits.
 Hands on learning about aquatic life |
Home*A*Syst is also integrated into the South Carolina 4-H20 Pontoon Classroom -- a fun and educational program designed to teach youth to understand, appreciate, and protect South Carolina's beautiful lakes, streams, and rivers. Home*A*Syst nicely fits into the 4-H20 focus on watersheds, non-point source pollution, fertilizer and pesticide management, and the health of aquatic life. During the 1999 and 2000 summer programs, South Carolina Home*A*Syst was presented to approximately 600 4-H20 children. In addition, a pilot project in 1999, distributed "classroom sets" of South Carolina Home*A*Syst (670 copies) to teachers in 22 middle and high schools, for use in classroom lessons. Teachers copy the assessment pages, for their students to fill out in class, and save the books for use with many classes.
Coast*A*SystSouth Carolina will soon be the first state to have a Coast*A*Syst Program. Cal Sawyer, working out of Clemson Extension's Charleston office and South Carolina Sea Grant, is developing Coast*A*Syst. This program will teach coastal watershed residents and water body users responsible practices for protecting water quality, with the ultimate goal of reducing fecal and nutrient input from urban/suburban activities and land development into nearby water bodies. Research will be conducted through surveys to determine what BMPs are appropriate for coastal South Carolina, where education about non-point source pollution is lacking, and how best to reach homeowners in providing continued education. Education of coastal residents will include identification of practices which detrimentally affect water quality, reasons why those practices do so, and instructions in better water quality management practices.
Additional Non-point Source Pollution ActivitiesAs of August 2000, South Carolina Home*A*Syst is the specified, mandatory public education program for all municipalities having NPDES (stormwater discharge) permits. We anticipate that Coast*A*Syst will be specified for permits in coastal counties. This designations should be a major boost for the statewide Home/Coast*A* Syst programs, allowing them to reach many more South Carolinians, especially in the major metropolitan areas.
Doug Fabel, South Carolina's non-point source coordinator, said his office's affiliation with Home*A*Syst has been a key in helping water utilities get the word out to the public about how to prevent non-point source water pollution. Water utilities often use the Home*A*Syst program materials, including inserting their fliers into customer's bills, to explain how to cut down on pollution.
On The WayWith a distribution of approximately 7,000 books to date, South Carolina Home*A*Syst continues to proceed with new chapters. Under development and due for publication this summer is a Drinking Water Source Protection chapter, funded by a USDA/CSREES grant. And down the road, look for a Lakeshore and Streamside Landscaping chapter, funded in part by USDA/CSREES and a new US EPA 319 grant. With the cooperation of the South Carolina State 1890 Extension, all South Carolina Home A Syst materials are gradually being redeveloped for use with low income and low literacy audiences. As contacts are made and participation in events increases, so does the list of "potentials and to-do's". Ideas abound, and the range and depth of the possible impact of Home*A*Syst seems to increase exponentially. According to Coordinator Rex Blanton, "the challenge is large, but so is the reward!"
| Contact these individuals for more information on South Carolina's programs: | |
| South Carolina Home*A*Syst: Rex Blanton, Home*A*Syst Coordinator Clemson University Cooperative Extension 864-656-6580 rexb@clemson.edu |
Dr. Barbara Speziale South Carolina Water Quality Coordinator and Home*A*Syst Developer Clemson University Cooperative Extension 864-656-1550 bjspz@clemson.edu |
| South Carolina Coast*A*Syst: Cal Sawyer, Coast*A*Syst Coordinator Clemson University Cooperative Extension Charleston office 843-722-5940 calvins@clemson.edu |
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PAST ISSUES OF THE THRESHOLDAugust 1999 - New York works with EFNEPSeptember 1999 - Wisconsin HAS and Native American Nation October 1999 - Michigan improves its program November 1999 - New Jersey works with watersheds January 2000 - Extension/EPA Partnership in Tennessee February 2000 - Montana delivers HAS through realtor training April 2000 - Alaska Home Stewardship May 2000 - Rhode Island targets public drinking water supplies |
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Comments may be directed to Kadi Row, krow@facstaff.wisc.edu.
Created by Janice Kepka, jkepka@facstaff.wisc.edu.
