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Water Efficiency Grant Program Final Project WET Grant Report (CWN) <br />Colorado than in other parts of the state. This trend is supported by the preliminary data from the <br />dater Education Task Force which indicates a gap in water education coverage in the western half <br />of the state, and especially in the North Nest Region. we intend to address this barrier in the <br />upcoming grant term by hiring additional staff to focus attention on supporting facilitators and <br />workshops in western Colorado. <br />D. Water Sector Workshops <br />While Colorado Project WET has experienced great success in developing new partnerships in <br />the education and water sectors, we recognize a need for high quality youth education <br />opportunities focused specifically around water conservation. we hope to continue working with <br />local partners (DCWRA, the Great Western Institute, and other water providers) as well as <br />furthering our relationship with the CWCB to ensure that Project WET is integrated into local <br />water conservation education and outreach efforts. <br />It should be noted that, as with other conservation measures, Project WET workshops rely on <br />providing incentives for educators, but CWN cannot guarantee teachers will sign up for <br />workshops. In some cases, CWN also relies on partners, such as the school districts and others in <br />the water resource community, to send out workshop notices, participate as guest speakers, or <br />provide field trip opportunities. As with all endeavors involving multiple partnerships, some <br />factors are outside of CWN's control. Over the course of the grant term there were instances <br />indicating that this will be a continuing difficulty. In one case a school district science coordinator <br />did not notify teachers on time of an upcoming workshop. In other instances, guest speakers did <br />not come at the assigned time or failed to show up to present at a workshop at all. For one <br />workshop planned later this summer, a science coordinator, who was to notify teachers, fell ill and <br />we expect this workshop to be cancelled. Several workshops have been planned in western <br />Colorado and were canceled due to limited enrollment. Despite these difficulties, teachers and <br />other educators, come away from Project WET workshops with critical understanding of water <br />issues, demonstration of engaging activities, and well connected to resources within their region. <br />Although, this type of hands-on water education is highly effective and affordable, the biggest <br />challenge that we've encountered with regard to interfacing with municipal water utilities is the <br />mindset that brochures or other printed materials constitutes quality water education. We know <br />from extensive research on educational Best Practices, that "doing" what you are being taught is <br />the most successful form of education, with printed materials yielding significantly less retention <br />(see Figure 2). This is exactly what Project WET activities achieve by engaging educators and <br />students through hands-on exploration and understanding of water conservation and other water <br />resource topics. We hope that the continued efforts of collaborative groups such as the Water <br />Education Task Force, the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education, and the Colorado <br />Foundation for water Education will help us inform all involved audiences that effective water <br />education must extend beyond printed materials. <br />Page 10 <br />