|
Think Blue Exeter!
Exeter has gone to the DUCKS! Exeter has launched a new educational outreach program about the harmful effects of stormwater pollution. Keep an eye & an ear to local TV & radio for the ducks & THINK BLUE EXETER!
|
|
Street Team Needed!
PREP needs some street team volunteers to help us out with promotion & staffing for our upcoming events!
Could you represent PREP at the Clean Water Community Table at an event?
if you're interested in volunteering for PREP! |
 The Great Bay Dialogue has changed its name to the Great Bay Initiative to better reflect the action & effort taking place. There are many new resources on the website & new action team meetings will be reconvening in the Fall.
Visit the website for
more information |
|
Welcome!
This is a special edition of Downstream - all about on our State of Our Estuaries Conference and many related events. We've been hard at work planning our conference on Dec. 7th and registration is filling fast but the good news is - there's still room. Visit the website to register today.
December is busy month for everyone but we hope among the busyness of shopping, visiting, cooking, hosting and celebrating you'll take some time to read the State of Our Estuaries Report and learn more about what's going on in our watershed and more importantly how you can help. Stay tuned for more State of Our Estuaries events throughout 2013.
From all of us at PREP have a wonderful, peaceful and happy holiday season,
 Jill Farrell Community Impact Program Manager
The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) If your club, organization, neighborhood or group would like to host a State of Our Estuaries Roll Out Event in 2013, please e-mail us and we'll be in touch to organize a date! |
|
|
PREP's Clean Water Champion
Ben Grumbles, President of U.S. Water Alliance
Keynote Speaker at PREP's State of Our Estuaries Conference
This month we go a bit outside our own watershed so we can feature a true national clean water champion, Ben Grumbles. Ben is the president of the U.S. Water Alliance, a Washington, D.C. based non-profit which is working today to explore the complex issue of water sustainability and plan for the future by improving public awareness that advances holistic, watershed-based approaches to water quality and quantity challenges. Ben has been working for clean water for over 25 years and we couldn't be more honored that he is coming to share his work with us at our conference, his keynote address is not to be missed!
 | | Ben Grumbles, of the US Water Alliance |
PREP: How long have you been a champion for clean water?
Ben: Since being in my mother's womb, of course.
PREP: How'd you get started in protecting clean water? Ben: I'd like to say it started with a science fair project in elementary school on stream water quality but it really began in earnest when I started working in the House of Representatives and saw people of all stripes and parties come together in 1987 to enact a stronger Clean Water Act. Clean water is a powerful and unifying force.
PREP: What's your favorite thing to do with or on water? Ben: I drink a lot of tap water (and you should too). My second favorite thing: appealing to the inner creek geek in me and taking hikes along and through mountain streams. Close third: walking on the beach at night under the stars, listening to the surf, and smelling the salty sea.
PREP:What's been your proudest moment as a clean water champion? Ben: Work at EPA such as launching the WaterSense program for water efficiency and championing the National Estuaries Program (which I helped draft in the 1987 Clean Water Act amendments). Both programs rely on collaboration and embrace the "one water" management principle for integrated conservation and protection.
PREP: What's one simple thing you would tell somebody to do to protect the coasts around the nation they love?
Ben: Join a local/regional watershed organization and make sure it participates in land use and smart growth decisions. (The first part is easier than the second.)
|
|
The Clean Water Community Calendar State of Our Estuaries Edition
Wednesday, Dec. 5th The Seacoast Science Café: The Health of Great Bay: Great Big Challenges and Great Big Opportunities Presented by: Rachel Rouillard and Cory Riley 6:00pm
The Portsmouth Brewery, Jimmy LaPanza Lounge, 56 Market St.
The final edition of the Seacoast Science Café promises to be an engaging discussion for all members of the Great Bay community. Rachel and Cory both work with a wide range of scientists, policy-makers, and citizens, and they'll be leading discussion about the challenges that face all residents of the Piscataqua region. Sit down with a pint of your favorite local brew, join the conversation and ask the questions that matter to you. The Seacoast Science Café is brought to you by UNH EPSCoR
Friday, Dec. 7th
STATE OF OUR ESTUARIES CONFERENCE! 8:00am - 4:30pm
Portsmouth Harbor Events & Conference Center, 100 Deer Street, Portsmouth, NH
Join us as we roll out the 2013 State of Our Estuaries Report!
All the information you need about the conference can be found on the State of Our Estuaries Website. The conference will feature a huge range of scientists, municipal officials, business owners and much more. Make sure you register so you can be a part of this day of conversations and information. But the conference isn't the only part of the State of Our Estuaries event. Below you'll find more events that will feature PREP's partners leading discussions with residents of the Great Bay community. Friday, Dec. 7th Pecha Kucha Portsmouth: Water
6:00 p.m. -9:00 p.m. Portsmouth Gas Light Co., 3rd Floor 64 Market St., Downtown Portsmouth
PREP partnered with the awesome folks at Pecha Kucha Portsmouth to co-host a fun, different and engaging evening following our conference. December 7 marks the fourth and final installment of Pecha Kucha Portsmouth's popular "Elements" series. Eight creative thinkers-including a brewer, water scientist, and freshwater fisherman, among others-from the Seacoast region will present topics connected in some way to the "Water" theme.
Meaning "the sound of chit-chat" in Japanese, Pecha Kucha began in Tokyo in 2003 as the brainchild of architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham and has since spread to more than 550 cities worldwide. The Pecha Kucha format is innovative and engaging. Each presenter follows the same format: they present 20 slides on a topic and are given 20 seconds to speak about each slide. This format is demanding of presenters and ensures that presentations are informal, expressive, and engaging for the audience (Imagine a world without mind-numbing Powerpoint slides of bullet lists!).
This gathering is free and open to the public. Drink specials will be available courtesy of Smuttynose Brewing Company, and light appetizers will be provided. For more information visit
State of Our Estuaries Roll-Out Events
Beginning in December and continuing throughout 2013, PREP will be partnering with area hosts to convene roll-out events. The roll-out events will be a mini-version of the conference proceedings. There will be a 20-minute presentation that focuses on the 22 environmental indicators that were reported on and any cross-cutting themes and interesting trends that were detected. There will also be a feature on the State of Our Estuaries Citizens Guide which is an 8-page pamphlet on simple things citizens and homeowners can do to help address the issues the watershed is facing. There will be plenty of time for discussion, Q&A and socializing.
Tuesday, December 11th
7-8:30 p.m
Host: Phyllis Ford of the Spruce Creek Association
Kittery, ME
Thursday, December 13th
7-8:30pm
Hosts: Cory Riley & Doug Grout, NH Fish & Game
Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center at Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Depot Rd., Greenland, NH
Monday, December 17th
7-8:30 pm
Hosts: Al Legendre, NextEra Energy
The Science & Nature Center at NextEra Seabrook Station, Seabrook, NH
If your club, organization, neighborhood or group would like to host a State of Our Estuaries Roll Out Event in 2013, please e-mail us and we'll be in touch to organize a date!
|
|
|
