Friday, June 12, 2009

Heading to Camp!

I'm so excited - next week is The Groundwater Foundation's "Outdoor Adventures in H2O" Summer Day Camp! It's been a busy preparation time for Foundation staff, but the adventures the students will have will be well worth the time and effort. The camp will get kids out of the classroom and into nature where they will get wet and have fun while learning about water. And I would be remiss if I didn't thank our camp partners and sponsors - Bright Lights, Sam's Club/WalMart State Giving Program, and U.S. EPA Region 7.


The week includes some exciting field trips, including visits to Schramm State Park and Aksarben Aquarium, Holmes Lake, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, Branched Oak Organic Farm, and Pfizer Inc. Students will take part in hands-on, brains-on activities to make their camp experience lasting, like designing and installing a rain garden, painting rain barrels, using GPS units in a scavenger hunt, hiking through a tallgrass prairie to a groundwater-fed spring, performing water tests, building water filters, building aquifer models out of sand and gravel as well as ice cream, and fishing.


Granted, I may be a bit biased, but to me, the week sounds like a fun adventure! I think I'm looking foward to it as much as the kids!


Keep up with what's happening during camp (Monday through Friday, June 15-19) by following The Groundwater Foundation on Twitter (http://twitter.com/groundwaterfdn) and/or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Groundwater-Foundation/45882768475).

Stay tuned for camp photos and videos!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Rain Garden Event





















The Groundwater Foundation hosted the first of three Rain Garden Workshops Saturday, May 30 in Hastings. Many members of community attended the event and pitched in to help at the Hastings Museum, where an information session took place and then a demonstration installation of the rain garden was completed.

The Groundwater Foundation will be hosting another workshop Saturday, June 6 at the City Square in Stromsburg beginning at 8:45 a.m. The final workshop will take place June 27 in North Platte at the Cody Park Shelter beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Each workshop has a registration fee of $10. The workshops will be led by members of The Groundwater Foundation staff and by a professional landscape designer. For more information, please contact Cindy Kreifels at 1-800-858-4844 or ckreifels@groundwater.org.

The workshops are supported through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act Section 319 as facilitated by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Well Owners Network

42 Million Americans rely on private water wells for their drinking water supply, and of course everyone who relies on this resource wants to protect it! Who wouldn’t?

In order to help you do just that the Water Systems Council has created the wellcare® Well Owners Network. It is free, and as a member of the network, you will have easy access to information and resources that are critical to maintaining a safe supply of drinking water for you and your family. Network members will receive at NO COST:

  • Access to information and tools to help you better understand your drinking water source.
  • A quarterly e-newsletter with information on wells, well water, and practical tips for protecting the nation's groundwater resources.
  • Annual reminders to test your well water.
  • Opportunities for discount well water test kits.

Join the network now! Call 1-888-395-1033 or visit www.watersystemscouncil.org/network.php.