Droughtbusters: Water Conservation & Salmonid Education in a Drought Environment

Project Dates: 
2015 to 2016
Funding Organizations: 
CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP)
Photo of an installed rain barrel at Union Street Charter School in Arcata, CA.

Through a Department of Fish and Wildlife grant, NRS visited classrooms in the 2015/2016 school year at public schools throughout the Mad River and Eureka Plain watersheds with our Droughtbusters water conservation education program.  The program was designed for fifth grade classrooms and included the delivery of a rain barrel with a custom designed banner, a presentation and hands-on activity, and a project suggestion list for teachers and students.   The presentation and hands-on activity highlighted how the harvesting of rain water can decrease the need to ‘tap the Mad’ for certain outdoor water needs, leaving more water in the river for salmonid life cycle needs.  The students learned about the current California drought, and how there are many different choices we can make to conserve water, from using rain barrels to landscaping with native plants.