Alabama Water Watch citizen volunteers to be highlighted at AWW annual meeting June 23

Alabama Water Watch will hold its 2018 annual meeting Saturday, June 23, at the CASIC Building in the Auburn Research Park, 559 Devall Drive.

If you are not familiar with Alabama Water Watch, or AWW, and the work of its volunteers, the annual meeting will be a great opportunity to learn more about the program and work around Alabama. AWW is a citizen volunteer water quality monitoring program hosted within the Auburn University Water Resources Center, and the goal is to empower citizens through environmental education and training so that they can collect and use their own water data to protect and restore water quality.

This year’s annual meeting will feature talks from AWW volunteer monitors, volunteer trainers, 4-H AWW (representatives from its youth volunteer program) and monitoring groups that highlight why they got involved with Alabama Water Watch, how they stay motivated in their water monitoring and why it is important for others to consider getting involved with water-based citizen science and watershed stewardship.

The meeting will also feature individuals from AWW’s Global Water Watch program who will speak on their involvement in improving water quality through public education and volunteer monitoring. In addition, a board member of the Citizen Science Association will speak on her experience and the importance of citizen science.

At the end of the meeting, William Deutsch, Auburn University Research Fellow Emeritus and founder of Alabama Water Watch, will premiere his new book, “Alabama Rivers, A Celebration and Challenge.” It will be available for purchase at the annual meeting, and Deutsch will be there to sign copies.

More information about the annual meeting, including the agenda and registration details, is available online. The deadline to register is Tuesday, June 19.