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                             Hoosier Riverwatch Instructor of the Year
                                             
Norma Duckworth, Water Quality Specialist for the Vanderburgh County Soil and Water
Conservation District (SWCD) was awarded the Hoosier Riverwatch Volunteer Instructor
of the Year for 2009.

This award is given for commitment of service, and support of the Hoosier Riverwatch
Program, the volunteer stream monitoring program for the state of Indiana.  The award
was presented to her at the annual Hoosier Riverwatch, Project WET and Project
Wild facilitator retreat at Camp Camby in early December. 

Norma has been a certified volunteer for 8 years and an instructor for 5 years.  She
was in the running with about 40 other Hoosier Riverwatch trainers for this award.  She
has trained well over a hundred volunteers in basic Riverwatch volunteer water
monitoring methods and sampling for ecoli bacteria.  About 25 of her trainees
volunteer regularly in the Evansville area.  Many others use their training to bring water
quality education to their students, community and government decision makers.  Norma
is also certified as an instructor in Project Wet, Project Learning Tree and Project Wild. 
She can be contacted at the SWCD office 812-867-0729.  She is available to give programs
in these areas or train teachers and organizational   leaders to bring these ideas to their
classrooms or groups. 

Hoosier Riverwatch promotes stewardship of Indiana’s waterways through a volunteer
stream monitoring and water quality education.  Hoosier Riverwatch is a state
sponsored water quality initiative.  The program was started in 1994 to increase public
awareness of water quality issues and concerns by training members of the community
or neighborhood to monitor the quality of water in local streams.  This data could then
be entered into a state data base.  It is designed to show trends in stream health. 
A change in the normal readings can be useful in identifying potential improvements
or degradation of the water quality in local or neighborhood waterways that might
otherwise go unnoticed.  Hoosier Riverwatch workshops are given all over the
state and no cost to the participants. 

Hoosier Riverwatch is sponsored in part by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources-
Division of Fish and Wildlife. Other funding is provided by the Federal Sport Fish
Restoration Fund.  http://www.hoosierriverwatch.com/

Since 1996 Hoosier Riverwatch has trained over 6500 volunteers.  Numbers
indicate that over 50% of the volunteers are still active statewide.

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) believes that informed people are more
likely to participate in the decision making process and to make a difference through
their action Project WET invites educators, resource managers, community leaders
and concerned citizens to joint Project WET in educating people about one of the most
precious resources on the planet – Water.

Project Wet provides workshops throughout the state and can be designed to meet your
grade level or group needs.  Correlations will be available on line at: www.projectwet.in.gov

Project Wild is supplementary environmental/conservation education program emphasizing
wildlife.  The program’s innovative hands-on activities are designed for students in Kindergarten
through grade 12. Materials are correlated with state standards and integrated into all subject areas.

Project Wild assists learners of any age in developing the awareness, knowledge, skills and
commitment to make informed decisions and act responsibly concerning wildlife and our
environment.

 Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education program designed for
teachers and other educators working with students in pre-K through grade 12.  PLT
uses the forest as a "window on the world" to increase students' understanding of our comple
environment, to stimulate critical and creative thinking, to develop the ability to make informed
decisions on environmental issues, and to instill the confidence and commitment to take responsible
actions on behalf of the environment.  Through workshops PLT gives educators the tools they
need to help children learn HOW to think, not WHAT to think about complex environmental
issues.  PLT's community-based activity projects and investigations provide students with
opportunities to make real world decisions, meet community needs, and explore what is happening
in their own neighborhoods, towns, or cities.

"To know something about trees - about even one tree - is to know something important,
Gerald Jones, Author
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