Thorn Creek Watershed Based Plan December 2005
4–43 Thorn Creek Watershed Improvement Plan
• Create a database of grantors, grant programs and grant writing workshops.
• Create and disseminate a guide for responsible stormwater management in the Thorn Creek wa-tershed
or a pamphlet for landowners with small-scale practices. ($8,000)
• Hold stormwater open houses for professionals, engineers, consultants, and planners to share
knowledge and techniques.
• Coordinate the publication and distribution of a professionally produced watershed-awareness
video developed to educate concerned citizens and students via classroom science classes.
Demonstration Projects
• Restoration projects.
• Demonstration projects such as detention basin retrofits. Capital projects are typically expensive,
but they can provide both direct, physical improvement as well as public education.
Possible Message Delivery Mechanisms
• One on one contact.
• Presentations to targeted groups.
• Press releases and news articles in local papers.
• Public service announcements or programs on local cable channel.
• Watershed project newsletter.
• Watershed project website with links to related sites.
• Watershed tours.
• Watershed signs.
• Inserts in agency newsletters.
• Workshops targeted to specific audiences.
• Special events and activities such as water festivals, stream clean-ups, or storm drain stenciling.
• Presentations at regularly scheduled meetings of townships, planning commissions, associations,
or other groups.
4.8.5. EVALUATING THE OUTREACH PLAN
Evaluation provides a feedback mechanism for ongoing improvement of your outreach effort and for as-sessing
whether the effort is successful. It also builds support for further funding. The following ideas
should be customized to particular needs of the party responsible for implementing the education and
information campaign. For a number of these evaluation strategies, baseline information should be col-lected
before the outreach activities begin and checked periodically throughout the outreach campaign to
help measure progress and effectiveness.
Actual reduction in impairment of water quality in Thorn Creek is perhaps the best indicator of outreach
effectiveness. While it is difficult to attribute water quality improvement to specific outreach strategy
programs or actions, there is little doubt that increased understanding and involvement in the watershed
is essential to watershed improvement. See Section 5 (Plan Implementation Evaluation) for specific in-formation
on education and monitoring strategy. Section 4.8.6 below contains a list of further resources
for evaluating the outreach effort.
