Bloomington Ill. – Every day, rain nourishes fields of growing crops, and rivers steadily flow through natural areas and communities until, eventually, drinking water trickles out of faucets into our homes, schools, and businesses. The health of a watershed is tied to the health of a community, and understanding where water comes from, how it moves, and what impacts its quality and quantity is crucial to maintaining safe and sustainable water resources now and in the future.
This spring, University of Illinois Extension is launching the Master Watershed Stewards Program to be hosted in McLean County. The Illinois-Indiana Master Watershed Steward Program is an 8-week journey designed to empower community members as a guardian of our precious natural ecosystems. Through engaging, science-based education by local experts and group activities, participants gain the tools and knowledge to protect and conserve our land and water resources. The course will run from April 1 through May 25, meeting in person at the McLean Extension Office on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. For $84, participants receive all training materials and program support through the 20 hours of coursework. Topics include water quality science and the impacts of climate change, invasive species, and agriculture. After completing training, participants can connect with local partners to engage in restoration science, community science, and educational programs.
Our three counties, McLean, Livingston, and Woodford, are included in the Sangamon, Mackinaw, and Vermilion watersheds. It is vital to protect and preserve the rivers, lakes, and streams that run throughout our communities. To join Watershed Stewards and advance your local impact, visit https://extension.illinois.edu/lmw/events. Registration will be open from February 10 until March 17. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please contact Darci Webber at dlwebber@illinois.edu or contact our office at 309-467-3789. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet access needs.
CONTENT GUIDE
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.