7.0 Information & Education Plan
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7.0 Information & Education Plan his Information & community to colonize after the Education Plan (I&E Plan) glaciers retreated. As temperatures recommends campaigns continued to rise, cool moist that are designed to deciduous forests dominated by enhance understanding of the maple, basswood, and beech trees Tissues, problems, and opportunities developed along Lake Michigan within Wind Point watershed. The coastal areas and oak-hickory intention is to promote general forests, oak savannas, marshes, acceptance and stakeholder and prairies developed more participation in selecting, designing, inland. Black ash, relict cedar, and and implementing recommended tamarack swamps were also part of Management Measures to improve the landscape. watershed conditions. The first step in understanding the issues, Ecological conditions changed problems, and opportunities within drastically following European Wind Point watershed is to gain settlement that began in the 1830s a better perspective of how the as the timber industry, farming, and watershed evolved over time into brickyards took hold. Significant what exists today. portions of forested communities and nearly all wetland areas The composition of the soil in Wind were cleared of trees, drained via Point watershed is a remnant of the tile systems, and farmed. By the ancient ice movement. Above the early 1900s, farming became the bedrock lies a layer of deposits left primary land use. Conversion from behind from the glaciers, consisting farmland to primarily residential of clay, silt, sand, and limestone and commercial uses followed and cobble. A somewhat tundra-like continues to this day. Wind Point environment covered by spruce watershed is presently dominated forest was the first ecological by residential areas, vacant land, 7.0 Information & Education Plan 215 transportation (roads, etc), cropland plan and initiating projects. and mixture of commercial/ It should be noted that industrial centers. the Root-Pike WIN will be combining information and The watershed has experienced education programs that rapid development in the past 30 will work in conjunction and years because of the close proximity support other watersheds to Milwaukee and Chicago, plans in their region, as affordable land costs and existing appropriate. transportation infrastructure. During the current economic Recommended Information recession beginning in 2008, the & Education Campaigns Example of watershed signage. Source: www.gptx.org housing boom has slowed and the A successful I&E Plan first ecological impacts of development raises awareness among can be evaluated within the stakeholders of watershed issues, watershed context. problems, and opportunities. Objectives: The second step is to provide 1. Create Wind Point Watershed The watershed planning process stakeholders with information Education & Public Outreach is a collaborative effort involving on alternatives to implement to Committee to engage County, voluntary stakeholders with the address the issues, problems, and City and Village boards, schools, primary scope to restore impaired opportunities. This I&E Plan includes and foster partnerships waters and protect unimpaired the following components as 2. Educate the public about waters by developing an referenced in USEPA’s “Handbook invasive species, native ecologically-based management for Developing Watershed Plans to plants, balanced ecosystems, plan for Wind Point watershed Restore and Protect Our Waters” restoration, pollutants and their that focuses on improving water (USEPA 2008): relation to the health of Wind quality by protecting green Point watershed. Encourage infrastructure, creating protection • Define I&E goals and objectives. public involvement and inform policies, implementing ecological • Identify and analyze the target the public of their role in the restoration, and educating the audiences. stewardship of Wind Point public. Another important outcome • Create the messages for each watershed. is to improve the quality of life for audience. 3. Provide watershed stakeholders people in the watershed for current • Package the message to with an education plan that and future generations. various audiences. promotes the knowledge, skills, • Distribute the message. and motivation needed to take Many of the stakeholders in Wind • Evaluate the I&E program. action on implementing the Point watershed have been active watershed plan. in the creation and leadership of Goals and Objectives 4. Inform the public and public the Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Development of an effective officials on the benefits of Network (Root-Pike WIN). The I&E Plan begins by defining I&E sustainable development key stakeholders include the City goals and objectives. Goals were practices and support changes of Racine, City of Oak Creek, City established for the Wind Point to ordinance language of South Milwaukee, Village of watershed to address the issues that promotes sustainable Caledonia, Village of Wind Point and opportunities raised during development. and the WDNR. The Root-Pike the issue identification survey, 5. Develop recommendations for WIN is actively engaging the watershed summit visioning, public adoption of conservation and/ public in watershed activities meeting questions and “Places or low density design standards such as: educational seminars, of the Heart” exercises. The list for all new development or research grants, paddling outings, was refined during the planning redevelopment. rain garden demonstration areas process. Objectives assigned 6. Create targeted educational and plants, beach clean-up days to each goal are intended to be information for land owners in and extensive public education measurable where appropriate the watershed. programs and a media campaign. so that future progress can be 7. Install environmental The watershed planning process assessed. The following goals interpretation signage at access for Wind Point watershed refer to communications goals and points throughout public open began in 2013 with educational objectives. space. sessions. The watershed planning 8. Develop recommendations for process has allowed watershed Goal 2: Implement watershed education and alternatives for partnerships to form that will help educational, stewardship, and fertilizer and pesticide use. with implementing the watershed recreational opportunities. 9. Develop recommendations for 216 Wind Point Watershed-Based Plan education and alternatives to 3. Encourage and support Point watershed were determined road & other pavement salt use. business and agricultural through stakeholder meetings 10. Increase water and land based communities and other and an online survey (survey recreational opportunities in stakeholder efforts to implement results are summarized in this Wind Point watershed recommended actions within chapter). An I&E Plan matrix 11. Identify and protect open the watershed plan. (Table 47) was developed as a space that provides important tool to help implement the I&E green infrastructure preserves, Target Audiences Plan. Not only does the matrix corridor connections and The recommended target audience include recommended education provide appropriate recreational for each education campaign campaigns, it also includes opportunities. is selected based on the ability columns for 1) “Target Audience”, 12. Identify and protect historic park to attain objectives. The target 2) “Package” (vehicle) for delivery buildings. audience is a group of people of the message, 3) “Schedule”, 4) 13. Increase environmental and with a common denominator who “Lead & Supporting Organizations”, recreational stewardship with are intended to be reached by a 5) “Outcomes/ Behavior Change”, volunteers and docents. particular message. The target and 6) “Estimated Cost”. 14. Increase recreational safety on audience of the watershed includes trails through increased civil use people of all demographics, Evaluation and patrols. locations, occupations, and The I&E Plan should be evaluated 15. Create environmental watershed roles. There can regularly to provide feedback interpretive signage on trails be multiple target audiences regarding the effectiveness of the explaining history, function and depending on which topic is being outreach campaigns. Evaluation rules. presented. The overall umbrella conducted early on in the effort target audiences selected to meet will help determine campaigns Goal 4: Increase communication watershed goals and objectives that are successful and those that and coordination among include landowners, homeowners, are not. Based on the evaluation, stakeholders. general public, local government, information, money, and time can be Objectives: elected officials, homeowner and saved by focusing on the campaigns 1. Encourage governing bodies business associations, and schools. that work. Those that do not work to adopt the Wind Point should be ended and/or refined. Watershed-Based Plan. Public Input Section 9.0 of this plan contains 2. Encourage amendments of Creating and distributing a a “Report Card” with milestones municipal comprehensive message for each audience is related to watershed education that plans, codes and ordinances to done via campaigns that address can be used to evaluate I&E Plan include watershed plan goals education goal objectives. The implementation efforts. and objectives. I&E Plan objectives for the Wind Students measure a fallen tree in Tabor Woods as part of the Caledonia Conservancy’s School to Nature program. Source: Sandy DeWalt 7.0 Information & Education