Want to know more?

Organizations/Contacts | Publications | Web Sites

This is just a starting point. There's a ton of information out there about the water quality in your state and who's doing what to protect it. Thanks to the cyber world, much of this information is only a mouse click away. Dig in to find out what the water quality is like in your local watershed and what you can do to make a difference.

Organizations/Contacts

Use the government pages of your telephone book to locate addresses and phone numbers of local agencies in your community or state. The following list includes some of the organizations that may be helpful to you:

• Cooperative Extension Service
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Health
• Department of Natural Resources
• Environmental Quality Department
• Soil and Water Conservation District
• Waste Water Departments

1-800-RECYCLE.
You can call anytime to get information on how and what to recycle.

Adopt-A-Watershed.
Adopt-A-Watershed uses a local watershed as a living laboratory in which students engage in hands-on activities, making science applicable and relevant to their lives. To get more information on activities you can do in your state/community go to http://www.adopt-a-watershed.org/ and click on your state. You can also call (530) 628-5334 for a list of contacts for your state.

Coastal Cleanups
(http://www.cmc-ocean.org/ ). Visit this site or call the Center for Marine Conservation at 1-800-CMC-Beach for information about beach cleanups or to participate in the annual International Coastal Cleanup.

Earth Force (G.R.E.E.N)
Earth Force is youth driven. Through Earth Force, kids discover and implement lasting solutions to environmental issues in their community. In the process they develop life-long habits of active citizenship and environmental stewardship. For more information, call (703) 299-9400 or visit the web site at http://www.earthforce.org/ .

Earthwater Stencils.
Their mission is to foster public awareness of, involvement in, and support for stormwater pollution prevention. This is accomplished through community-based storm drain stenciling and related programs in local watersheds. For more information, call (360) 956-3774 or visit http://www.earthwater-stencils.com/ .

EPA Safe Drinking Water Act Hotline (1-800-426-4791).
You can call this number to report problems or to get information on safe drinking water practices.

EPA Wetlands Helpline (1-800-832-7828).
You can obtain free fact sheets, coloring books, and other useful materials on wetlands.

Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is a worldwide network of students, teachers, and scientists working together to study and understand the global environment. GLOBE students make environmental observations at or near their schools and report their data through the Internet. For more information on getting involved, call 1-800-858-9947 or visit GLOBE's web site at http://www.globe.gov/ .

Izaak Walton League of America's Save Our Streams program provides educational material on stream and wetland monitoring. Visit http://www.iwla.org/sos/ or call 1-800-BUG-IWLA.

National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife
Habitat program shows you how to help save a place for wildlife in your own backyard. Visit http://www.nwf.org/habitats/ .

Project WET is a nonprofit water education program for educators and young people, grades K-12, located on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman, Montana. The goal of Project WET is to facilitate and promote awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources. At project WET's homepage (http://www.montana.edu/wwwwet/ ) you can get more information from the contact in your state (see the State Project WET Program Coordinator list) or call (406) 994-5392.

River of Words Poetry and Art Contest.
The River of Words Contest is a national poetry and poster contest for grades K-12 that invites children to explore their own watershed, discover its importance in their lives, and express what they learned, felt and saw in words or images. For more information on entering the next River of Words contest, visit http://www.riverofwords.org/ , email info@riverofwords.org, or call (510) 848-1155.

River Network keeps a directory of river and watershed conservation groups. Visit http://www.rivernetwork.org/library/libnetdir.cfm .

The Groundwater Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about ground water. Visit www.groundwater.org or call 1-800-858-4844.

Water Environment Federation. The Water Environment Federation is an international technical and educational services organization. Visit http://www.wef.org/ for hands-on water environment activities for kids K-12.

Publications

50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth by Earthworks Group. This book shows kids how specific elements of their environment (like a light switch or a toilet) are connected to the rest of the world. The book provides practical tips to kids on how they can conserve energy, recycle waste, and take on important environmental projects. Available in bookstores.

Backyard Conservation. Whether you have acres in the country, an average-sized suburban yard, or a tiny plot in the city, this booklet can show you things you can do to the land around your home to help protect the environment and add beauty and interest to your surroundings. Tip sheets and this colorful 28-page booklet on Backyard Conservation are available free by calling 1-888-LANDCARE (single copies only). You can also visit the web site at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ .

Earth Book for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment. by Linda Schwartz, Beverly Armstrong (Illustrator). This book contains arts and crafts projects, experiments, and experiences that encourage children to enjoy and heal the environment. The book covers acid rain, endangered wildlife, pesticides, energy, recycling, pollution, landfills, rain forests, water conservation, and related topics. Available in bookstores.

Getting Started in Volunteer Monitoring. A brochure introducing volunteer monitoring and how to get involved. Visit the EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/volunteer/.

Watershed Patch Project. The purpose of this project is to encourage kids to make a difference in their communities by becoming watershed stewards. For more information or to obtain a copy of the booklet, call the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) at 1-800-490-9198 or visit the web site at http://www.epa.gov/adopt/patch/watershedpatch.pdf. Don't forget to give them the EPA document number when ordering (EPA 840-B-02-001).

Give Water a Hand Activity Guide(http://www.uwex.edu/erc/ ). This guide provides information for youth about watersheds and ways to protect and improve them.

National Water Quality Inventory: Report to Congress. This report includes information about the condition of our nation's waters. Visit http://www.epa.gov/305b/ or contact the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) at 1-800-490-9198.

Splash (CD-ROM). This interactive tool provides information on nonpoint source pollution. For more information, contact the Conservation Technology Information Center at (765) 494-9555.

Turning the Tide on Trash: A Learning guide on Marine Debris. Call the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) at 1-800-490-9198 or visit the web site at www.epa.gov/owow/OCPD/Marine/contents.html. number 842-B-92-003.

Waters to the Sea: Rivers of the Upper Mississippi (CD-ROM). This interactive tool presents fundamental concepts of ecology, the water cycle, and watershed hydrology. The cost is $39.95 plus shipping and handling. For more information, contact the Center for Global Environmental Education at (651) 523-2480.

Web Sites

http://environment.about.com/newsissues/environment/ This web site contains information on environmental issues, where to get free environmental materials (CDs and posters), kids' stuff (fun and games), clip art, environmental news, online environmental mapping, and other links to environmental issues.

Hey Kids, Its Time to Take Action . All types of recycling programs and information for kids from the American Forest and Paper Association. One feature of the site lists 20 ways to reuse a paper grocery bag.

http://www.epa.gov/305b/ At this site, you can find reports on the quality of our nation's waters, including summaries for your state.

www.epa.gov/kids/ EPA's Explorer's Kids Club. Provides information and activities for kids to become familiar with the environment and what they can do to make a difference.

www.epa.gov/volunteer/ EPA's Volunteer Monitoring Homepage. At this web site you'll find information on volunteer monitoring, including a directory of U.S. programs and documents on how to monitor.

www.epa.gov/surf/ Locate Your Watershed. Using the Watershed Information Network, you can check out local water conditions, find out about watershed training opportunities, identify volunteer monitoring and watershed programs to get involved in, or connect with federal and state agencies.

www.epa.gov/water/kids.html This web site is loaded with information for kids of all ages, including projects, experiments, educational materials and games.

Many of the links on this page are pointers to other hosts and locations in the Internet. This information is provided as a service; however, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not endorse, approve, or otherwise support these sites.

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