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Preface <br />Introduction <br />The Colorado Water Education Task Force (WETF) was charged with an initiative to better <br />understand the current status of water education in Colorado. The primary purpose of WETF is <br />to provide guidance on ways to improve the understanding and stewardship of our water <br />resources through education. This initiative is funded by the Colorado Water Conservation <br />Board in partnership with the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education and the Colorado <br />Watershed Network. <br />During the first half of 2008, the task force conducted an extensive online survey of 292 water <br />education providers in Colorado and convened a series of focus groups to describe key aspects <br />of current water education efforts and to evaluate gaps, barriers and opportunities for <br />improvement. The task force worked to establish consensus on a united platform for Colorado <br />water education and formulated specific recommendations for improvement. <br />Origins of the WETF Initiative <br />The leadership of Colorado's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) sought more information <br />about what is happening in the state when it comes to water education. The Colorado Water <br />Conservation Board (CWCB) then contacted the Colorado Watershed Network (CWN) to <br />discuss ways to gather this information. <br />After reviewing earlier efforts to answer this question, including an extensive report prepared <br />for the CWCB in 2001, the importance of gathering current information became clear. The state <br />needed to understand who was educating Colorado's citizens, how and where they were doing <br />it, what topics they were covering, and which audiences they were reaching. <br />Out of these early discussions, the Colorado Water Education Task Force (WETF) was created. <br />CWN and the CWCB soon partnered with the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education <br />(CAFE) and CWN hired Rob Buirgy to coordinate and facilitate the process. During the first half <br />of 2008, participants in WETF worked to find out what water education is available in Colorado. <br />They accomplished that through a Water Education Survey; Adult, Youth and DNR Divisions <br />Focus Groups; and the Task Force itself, which was responsible for the direction of the group <br />and the review and analysis of results. <br />Participating entities during the early stages of the project included: Colorado State University, <br />Colorado Department of Health and Environment, Colorado River Water Conservation District, <br />Denver Water, Colorado Water Congress, Colorado Water Resources Research Institute, <br />Colorado Foundation for Water Education, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. More entities <br />and individuals participated in the Focus Groups, and even more in the survey. <br />A full list of WETF participants is included in Appendix A <br />2008 Water Education Survey <br />Introduction <br />A core component of this initiative was the online survey of water education providers, which <br />was designed to establish an inventory of current water education efforts in Colorado. The <br />focus of the survey was to gain a broad understanding of the water education programs and <br />efforts currently being implemented throughout the state. While there was high interest in <br />~ Kellogg, Nancy. Final Report: 2001 Water Education Accomplishments and Recommendations, 2001. <br />WETF 2008 Final Report pg. 4 <br />