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November 8, 2019 / Volume 7, Issue 28
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Less Than a Month Left to Submit Photos to the WRRC Photo Contest |
The WRRC Annual Photo Contest will end on Friday, December 6. You've still got time to showcase your creative spirit while highlighting the many ways water impacts the state of Arizona.
Capture anything from people and nature to business and agriculture. It's completely up to you. Just make sure your picture relates to water in Arizona. And, if you're feeling up to a challenge, use our conference title "Water at the Crossroads: The Next 40 Years" as inspiration.
We've had a lot of great submissions so far and we would love to get many more. What are you waiting for?
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The Economic Impact of Arizona's Rivers, Lakes, and Streams: How Water-based Outdoor Recreation Contributes to State and Local Economies
November 8, 2019
Speaker: Haley Paul, Policy Manager Audubon Arizona
Time/Location: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.,
WRRC Sol Resnick Conference Room (350 N. Campbell Ave.)
Audubon Arizona commissioned a report to evaluate the economic contributions of the water in Arizona's rivers, lakes, and streams. In order to conserve and protect the waterways we care about, Audubon wanted to make the economic case for why their demise-due to drought, diversions, and a changing climate-would be devastating for Arizona. Outdoor recreation along Arizona's waterways is a thriving industry and includes fishing, wildlife watching, picnicking, camping, and hiking. These activities annually generate $13.5 billion in economic output and support 114,000 jobs statewide.
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Heat Mitigation through Green Infrastructure
November 19, 2019
Speaker:
Betsy Wilkening, Education Program Coordinator, Arizona Project WET;
Ladd Keith, Assistant Professor of Planning and Chair
, Sustainable Built Environments;
Nicole Iroz-Elardo, PhD, Assistant Research Professor
, Planning Degree Program;
Kirk Dimond, Assistant Professor
, Landscape Architecture;
Penelope Cottrell-Crawford, Graduate Student
, Landscape Architecture
This year, Tucson, the 3rd fastest warming city in the U.S., experienced its 2nd hottest summer on record and 11th straight summer ranked in the top ten hottest. Urban infrastructure-buildings, pavement, etc.-exacerbates extreme heat risk. Arizona Project WET (APW) and Watershed Management Group (WMG) started the Recharge the Rain (RtR) project in Tucson in 2017 to build community resilience to local climate impacts. The RtR project has worked with middle and high school teachers and their students to design, install, and monitor school rain gardens to harvest the rain and sustain native shade trees. Researchers from the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture coproduced a heat monitoring protocol we use to compare the efficacy of these landscapes to conventional landscaping in terms of heat reduction at the microscale. Preliminary results will be discussed along with plans to continue monitoring at the schools.
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WRRC Event - Know About Your Water Green Valley-Sahuarita
November 16, 2019
Time/Location: 10:00 - 11:30
a.m., Green Valley Recreation (GVR) East Campus, 7 South Abrego Dr., Green Valley, AZ
Everything you wanted to know about water resources in the Green Valley-Sahuarita area will be touched on in these interactive presentations. The culmination of a project funded by the Freeport McMoRan Community Investment Program, this presentation offers neutral, independent information on water supplies, uses, and quality, as well as community and individual actions to conserve and augment water resources in the region.
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Upcoming Brown Bags
- December 4, Laura Condon, Assistant Professor, UA/HAS, "Effects of Groundwater Pumping"
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WRRC's John Polle Receives Outstanding Staff Award
The WRRC is very pleased to report that John Polle, our Web Manager and Graphic Designer, has received the CALS Outstanding Staff Award from the University of Arizona Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences and Cooperative Extension (ALVSCE). Since 2011, John has brought exceptional creativity and innovation to his work, advancing the mission of the WRRC and elevating the impact of the center's communications and media. John was nominated by his peers in recognition of his dedication and excellence. Beyond his stellar professional abilities, John is a pleasure to work with and we are lucky to have him here at the WRRC.
John received the award from Shane Burgess, Vice President for ALVSCE and Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at the annual luncheon on November 6th, 2019.
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WATEC Conference Focusses on Water Stewardship and Innovation
WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal will moderate the panel, "Implementing Technologies Across Borders" at the 2019 Water Technology and Environmental Control (WATEC) conference in Tel Aviv, Israel. The four-day conference, scheduled for November 18 - 21, will focus on water stewardship and innovation - driving global leadership in the responsible planning, management, and protection of water. WATEC will feature panelists from around the world discussing topics such as smart water networks, regulation, and technology in water management, bringing together manufacturers, researchers, investors, decision-makers, and others from across the world. For her panel, Dr. Megdal will be joined by panelists from the United States, Mexico, and Israel to discuss a variety of technologies and their implementation in border regions. She will also
participate in a panel on Water and Politics, at which she will speak about Colorado River drought planning. Stay tuned for an update on the conference when Dr. Megdal returns to Tucson.
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Developing Curious Minds with Outdoor Exploration
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Student- and nature-centered discoveries drive APW's Wetland Explorer lesson at Sweetwater Wetlands. Last week, 4th Graders from Mission Manor Elementary School became fully immersed in experiencing wetlands using scientific observational skills that helped them discover new things. They noticed "white feathery" stuff and wondered where it came from. Then they noticed a hard, oval structure attached to a branch, and wondered where that came from. These findings prompted more exploration and evidence, which eventually lead to scientific discoveries about cattails and chrysalises.
In alignment with the new Arizona Science Standards, all APW students learn to ask questions and construct explanations based on evidence. They share observations with peers using sentence starters, such as "I notice ..." and "I wonder ..." Another prompt, "My discovery reminds me of ...", helps students make connections between their newfound knowledge and how it relates to experiences in their own lives. APW programs help students build skills in doing science, not just learning about it.
More information about APW
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WRRC Welcomes New Program Coordinator
We are happy to welcome Michael Seronde to the WRRC as our new Program Coordinator!
Michael will be working with the Water RAPIDS program, as well as on many of the communications and reporting efforts that are so important to our work.
Michael has a Master of Public Policy from UArizona, where he focused on both quantitative and qualitative policy analysis and worked on municipal water conservation and rangeland ecosystem restoration projects. His interest in stakeholder engagement and natural resource management make him an excellent addition to our team. As a life-long Arizonan, he has a deep connection to the state's environment and communities.
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Water Resources Conference Invites Abstracts
The 2020 UCOWR/ NIWR Water Resources Conference planning committee is inviting abstracts for oral, panel and poster presentations. UCOWR (Universities Council on Water Resources) and NIWR (National Institutes for Water Resources) hold a conference each year that features the latest research and developments in water resources. In 2020, the conference will be held June 9-11 at the Graduate Hotel in Minneapolis, MN. Because UArizona and the WRRC are members of these organizations, all registrants from UArizona are able to use the member registration rate to attend the conference. Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be submitted electronically by Jan. 24, 2020. Abstracts of accepted and presented work will be published as part of the conference proceedings.
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