What we do...
KIC education programs to demonstrate the link between stewardship of Denver’s stormdrains and the vital role it plays in the protection of our natural water resources. The KIC campaign targets students and youth as beneficiaries and as primary agents of behavioral change within their own families and immediate communities.
By engaging Denver’s urban youth -
In the creation of classroom activities related to water…
In their participation in public outreach opportunities and events…
And their collaboration in devising the train-the-trainer action plan…
Train-the-trainer approach
FrontRange Earth Force helped develop training and curriculum for the 2007 KIC initiative.
"Training for Teachers in Water Issues" headlined its annual summer training event, where two master teachers guided the workshop for 10 teachers in 10 schools targeted for the rollout of the 2007 program.
In addition, FrontRange Earth Force is coaching 2-3 youth how to do basic public outreach, including larger public events (e.g. Black Art Festival) and neighborhood gatherings (e.g., Clayton Neighborhood picnic). These team leaders manage youth teams, responsible for doing public outreach at these events, with an emphasis on face-to-face discussions, getting pledges, and answering questions.
Forming valuable, local partnerships: Live Green!
The Green Team, a group of students employed by Groundwork Denver and Youth Development in cooperation with the Mayor's Youth Employment Program, acted as the City and County of Denver's water crusaders this summer. The Green Team was charged with a difficult task: 1) becoming experts on water quality and its link to storm water in their neighborhood, 2) and spreading what they learned throughout the community.
The Green Team worked with the City and County of Denver's Public Works Department and FrontRange Earth Force to explore the basics of water quality.
The students explored and mapped out the Cole/Clayton neighborhood and took an inventory of multiple storm drains in their community.The students witnessed first hand what pollutes stormwater.
The team collected information on:
• what it found in the storm drains
• where and how many stormdrains were located within walking distance of its meeting
Students tested water samples from:
• the South Platte River
• Cherry Creek
• Confluence Park
• and the tap at their meeting place.
Green Team students tackled reaching the community about water quality and storm drains by:
• Helping create a pledge for community members/Denver residents around water quality
• Attending a Confluence Concert in Confluence Park in July to talk to community members about how to keep their water clean
• Going door to door in the Cole/Clayton neighborhood spreading the word
• Giving a presentation to community members at the Cole Neighborhood Association meeting in July
• Helping the City and County of Denver mark more storm drains in the Clayton and Cole neighborhoods.
• Staffing a booth at the Peace in the Streets fair in Curtis Park on Saturday, Aug 11th.
The Green Team completed various other environmental and community projects throughout their summer of employment with Groundwork Denver and Youth Development. These included maintaining three community gardens, mulching trees in the neighborhood and City Park, educating the community about lead poisoning prevention, and eradicating non-native invasive plants in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Overall Education Goals for 2009:
• Total of 10 youth projects, school related activities at 10 schools for the year; 300 youth reaching 3,000 with the mentoring and guidance of 20 volunteers
• 500 signed pledges (10% of all people involved)
• Pre & post surveys documenting changes in awareness about specific water quality facts
• Presence and engagement with public at at least 5 public outreach events
• Help classrooms complete their projects and evaluate the school year's activities.
• Develop key talking points and a presentation for trainers to use in ongoing training future trainees.