Impacts and Accomplishments

Impacts and Accomplishments

Educating Young People About Water (EYPAW) resources are designed for leaders including educators, natural resource managers, youth leaders, and member of watershed groups. Whether on their own, in a community team, or in a workshop, leaders can use the EYPAW guides and video to:

  • Plan and evaluate their programs in relation to local water issues
  • Choose curricula appropriate to the learners
  • Work in partnership with local experts
  • Improve the ability of young people to manage and protect water.

Supporting Leaders

With increased emphasis on community water issues, leaders need a convenient and comprehensive way to find the best water education resources that meet local needs.

Educating Young People About Water supports educators by helping them:

Gain access to community water education materials.

EYPAW guides and videos are used by water education leaders to find and apply appropriate resources and program models. Approximately 60,000 people have learned about our materials through direct mail, conference displays, and newsletter. National distributors, with a circulation of more than 200,000, list our materials in their catalogs. The Educating Young People About Water web site, offers the opportunities to download guides and access a database of 239 water-related curricula.

Build community teams and integrate water issues into youth programs.

  • Through more than 50 training opportunities, 2,500 natural resource professionals and educators have the skills to integrate water issues into youth programs, to identify community water education goals, and to facilitate team building for community water education.
  • 75 facilitators trained through our workshops provided their own regional training sessions.

Building and Fostering Partnerships

Cooperative Extension’s investment in youth water education has been based on collaboration between Extension, and national agencies and organizations. Community and national partners have been involved in the creation of accurate materials and cost effective dissemination of training and resources.

EYPAW increases adoption of community-based approaches and a needs assessment strategy.

  • Our needs assessment and dissemination strategy was adopted by other organizations (the American Fisheries Society, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and National 4-H Council) in developing their own resource books on fisheries, birds, and energy.
  • Several organizations, including Oregon State’s 4-H and Oregon University Outreach, have adopted our community-based philosophy of water education planning as the foundation for local training programs.

Partners work together to improve local water quality.

In response to identified curriculum and programming gaps, partners recommended the development of a new resource that would guide youth in identifying community water concerns and conducting water service projects.

That resource became Give Water A Hand.