Abstract:

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and one of the largest and most biologically productive estuaries in the world, but it is also in peril. Despite years of extensive restoration efforts, the Chesapeake Bay is still suffering from high sediment and nutrient concentrations, increasing development, and climate pressures amongst other things. Out of the six main pollution sectors (agriculture, wastewater, forests, air sources, septic systems, stormwater), urban stormwater is the only pollution sector that is still increasing in the watershed. At the same time, Chesapeake Bay outreach professionals have been providing passive knowledge and awareness opportunities to citizens about the "State of the Chesapeake Bay" without really empowering people to take action or make sustained behavior changes. In response to President Obama's 2009 Executive Order (13508-Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration) that called for citizen stewardship, the Watershed Stewards Academy was established as way to move citizens beyond just knowledge and awareness, but to action.

The Watershed Stewards Academy (WSA), is a train-the-trainer program developed to build a cadre of citizen stewards and scientists capable of identifying and solving stormwater pollution problems. To obtain certification, Stewards must complete an intensive, research-based, hands-on training, and implement a community stormwater project. Once trained, Stewards work with their communities to assess community stormwater problems and to take action solving those problems. To date, this program has trained over 350 Stewards across six Maryland counties who have installed hundreds of small-scale stormwater projects, interacted with over 20,000 people, and leveraged over $250,000 in funding.

This session will explore the social science aspects of moving a group of people from knowledge and awareness, to action and sustained behavior change. It will also incorporate the outcomes of a four year, Environmental Protection Agency funded study, in which an innovative diagnostic decision support tool (DDST) was developed. The DDST enables Stewards to prioritize stormwater best management projects in their communities based on a confluence of social and natural parameters. By analyzing not only hydrological influences (% impervious cover, land uses, slope, topography, etc) on the landscape, but also social factors, such as awareness, knowledge, and willingness to adopt and implement small scale best management practices, Stewards are better able to target communities for Chesapeake Bay restoration projects.

Keywords:

Watershed, Environment, Science, Train the Trainer, Citizen Science, Adult Education, Engagement, Outreach, Social Marketing, Behavior Change.