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Mastering the skills and lessons of the Watershed Academy
What is the Cycle of Getting Good Environmental Projects Done on the Ground? -
Getting on Board - the Paper Work: Emergency contact, Liability and Media Release, Contact Info and Coordinating Schedule5 Quizzes
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Creating and Keeping a Safe and Productive Work Environment2 Topics
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Keeping a timelog
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Pathways, Principles and Premises of Becoming a Water ProtectorWho is a Water Protector
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Job Pathways in Environmental Science and Protection
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Tracking your JourneyKeeping a Journal with Field Notes
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What I need to take notes on+ journal prompts
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Scavenger Hunt
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Combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Contemporary Science for Improved Community and Water SecurityHow have people traditionally used the watershed and protected community values in a changing world?
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How has land use in the past compare to how it's being used now in the watershed?
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Protecting Community Values in a Changing World
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What are the basic elements of understanding and assessing a watershed?What is a Watershed and Watershed Hydrology?
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Geology & soil conditions in the watershed
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Observe and Assess- Reading the Landscape
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Watershed & Ecological Restoration PracticesBest Practices for Improving Watershed Management
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Restoring streams
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Erosion Control
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Vegetation and Aquatic Ecology in the Watershed
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Telling the Story of Your Watershed Academy ExperienceWhy it's important to share what we find
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How to create a community presentation on what I learned
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Learning From the PastHow to Interview an Elder
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Resources and Interview Prompts
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Become a LeaderCommunity organizing for improved watershed health
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How to build a strong team
Lesson 1 of 25
In Progress
What is the Cycle of Getting Good Environmental Projects Done on the Ground?
Getting a project done
Completing an environmental project is just like completing a science project for school or like baking cookies. First, you have to figure out what your question is, like how does a volcano work? Or why don’t we have any cookies? Then you find out what you need to solve your question, is it baking soda and vinegar? or Brown sugar and eggs? But hold on, you can’t just throw it all together! there are steps.
These are the steps to completing an environmental project: An easy way to remember the cycle is through using this acronym: MONITR
Let’s MONITR the watershed,
- Decide What Area your Project will Take Place in: Map your area. You can walk an area and depending on the owner of the land, take footage with drones as well.
- Read the Landscape and the Room: Observe complex natural systems and the relationships in the area. Remember that people are part of a place and the system includes the human relationships and traditions too.
- Recognize & Utilize Regenerative Processes: Notice natural processes (water, biology, soils) where they work well and where they don’t. Build upon existing processes such as revegetation of riparian areas or supporting river banks with erosion control structures. Think: has work been done here already? If so, did it improve the area or cause more harm?
- Design Ecological Restoration and Aim to Do No Harm: Implement a plan. Now we can decide what needs to be done and get to work. Keep humble by weighing positive and potential negative outcomes.
- Incorporate community engagement and learning: Tell your family and piers about the issues you’ve witnessed and the solutions your team came up with. Implement Community-centered work by learning from local traditional knowledge keepers and by educating others.
- Keep coming back and monitoring effectiveness: Return often to see how it’s going (monitoring) and refine your practice as you learn to see the watershed in new ways. Ask locals what they think and if they noticed any progress or harm.