Lakes and Streams - Watershed Stewards
If you live by a lake or river, are a member of a lake association, or are simply interested in bringing beauty and health to the landscape and improving the condition of Maine’s inland waters, the Watershed Stewards Program is for you. Watershed Stewards help improve Maine’s lakes and rivers by committing volunteer activities in exchange for training by watershed experts.
Watershed Steward Program workshops are presented by University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Department of Food, Agriculture, and Rural Resources, Maine County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Maine NEMO, and Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program and Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants. Local lake associations are welcome to participate in and host our Watershed Stewards workshops.
Volunteers stabilizing an eroding area
Through the program, we have trained almost 400 individuals over the past 13 years. These Stewards have conducted watershed surveys, inspected boats for invasive aquatc plants, conducted screenings of their lakes and ponds for invasive aquatic plants, and received grant funding to fix eroding sites on camp roads and residential camp lots.
In Person Programs
Our one evening per week, seven-week “in person” programs are lake-specific and offered locally. Programs are held each fall and spring. Local lake groups are required to recruit at least twenty participants. Participants are expected to complete 20 hours of volunteer service to their lake or watershed within one year of the program. There is flexibility to allow for lake-specific issues to be covered in these programs!
Online Programs
Beginning in 2011, our program will be offered online. Online programs are a video series, with one or two videos to be viewed each week. This program offers extreme flexibility, as these videos can be viewed at any time during the week. There will be a weekly opportunity to chat online with Laura, to ask questions and talk about the previous week’s session. Participants are expected to complete 10 hours of volunteer service within one year of the program.
To find out more about our online course (next session begins April 2, 2012) or to get on the waiting list for an in-person program, please contact Laura Wilson at (207) 581-2971 or laura.wilson@maine.edu.
