SPLASH entities have undertaken several activities and projects in a cooperative manner to provide educational outreach, opportunities for public participation and joint jurisdictional training. These activities include:
Hosting an informational booth at Littleton's annual Western Welcome Week Festival Day the 3rd Saturday in August;
Planning and participating in the Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners Annual Conference the 1st Friday each November;
Participating in the World Monitoring Day activities at the Littelton/Englewood Wastewater Treament Plan on October 18th of each year;
Planning and participating in the Cherry Creek "Run for the Watershed" 50-Mile Relay Race the last Saturday in September of each year;
Particpating in the Metro Denver Science Fair as judges and sponsoring 2 $50 awards for science projects that further the science of watershed stewardship in February each year;
Presenting at various conferences in Colorado, including the annual Colorado Watershed Assemby and EPA Non-Point conferences in September; and
Volunteering at various stream restoration workday activities at Cherry Creek and Cottonwood Creek.
Several of the outreach projects and activities the SPLASH group would like to see fully realized in the future include the following:
An annual Watershed Festival that rotates between Cherry Creek State Park and Chatfield State Park that illustrates the connection between people and their watershed;
Adopting the Cherry Creek Valley Ecological Park and the 17-Mile House Park to highlight the connection between people's activities and stream health;
Establishing a scholarship fund to recognize the accomplishments of students, teachers, and community group for watershed stewardship; and
Joint jurisdictional training for several of the management program requirements, specifically municipal operations, grading and erosion sediment controls, permanent best mangement practices inspection and maintenance, and illicit discharge detection and elimination.
Western Welcome Week Festival Day
SPLASH members participate in the City of Littleton’s annual Western Welcome Week Festival Day by hosting an information booth to provide information to Arapahoe County residents on Stormwater Quality issues. SPLASH tries to provide useful information during the festival, simple tips that the homeowner can use during routine chores that can help residents protect their drainageways for people and wildlife. The Festival Day is the 3rd Saturday in August of each year. Please come by our booth, we always have fun give-a-ways for kids and plenty of great information for adults to assist us in keeping our drainageways protected, our ecosystems productive, and our creeks healthy!
Several SPLASH members participate in the planning of each Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners Annual Conference on water quality. The conferences have three general sessions to cover progress to date in the watershed as a whole, along the streams and tributaries, and at the Reservoir itself. Each session typically features: Øhighlights of on-the-ground, outcome based efforts on behalf of enhanced water quality occurring in each of these systems, Øthe exciting educational efforts on-going at the Reservoir, utilizing the streams and riparian areas for Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners EdKit activities, and bringing the community together for "Ed-ventures" throughout the watershed, and Øup-to-date information on the studies being undertaken to further our understanding of these three vital ecosystem components.
The conference has the usual mixture of technical and non-technical presentations that reinforce why we care so much about water quality in the Cherry Creek watershed and why we are committed to enhancing the water quality in the creek and reservoir. The conference is held the 1st Friday of each November. Please join us this year!
Demonstration at Annual Conference of educational lengths-we-will-go-to to get the word out about water quality.
Inlet labeling at Aspen Grove Shopping Center
The SPLASH group has determined that education of our youth is an important and vital way to make the lasting connection between human actions and stream health, and between residents and their watershed. SPLASH members are presently utilizing the Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners "EdKit" activity approach, an approach that includes veiwing and discussing a video on stormwater runoff, discussing various informational brochures and a map of local watersheds, and having some fun with the Enviroscape runoff model to show non-point source pollution impacts in a residential setting, all in the classroom; followed by a half day field trip to a nearby stream restoration project for either water quality monitoring, wetland health observations, or weed pulling, and then back to either the school for stormwater inlet labeling of the storm sewer system around the school, or to a site near one of our drainageways. This three-pronged approach really reinforces the messages received at each location, and it's fun for the kids too!
Cherry Creek Relay Race Finish Line
Members of SPLASH plan and sponsor the Annual Cherry Creek Watershed Relay Rally Race through the beautiful Cherry Creek watershed. The relay race, with a rally award format, is 50 miles in length, from the top of the watershed to the reservoir at Cherry Creek State Park, running through Douglas and Arapahoe counties, and just kissing the City and County of Denver jurisdictional boundary before heading into the park. Runners experience some very special terrain, indicative of the varied ecosystems within a watershed. SPLASH members have several teams entered in the race, including Arapahoe County, SEMSWA, East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District, and Columbine Valley.
Members of SPLASH plan and participate in several annual volunteer "workday" events at the Cherry Creek Valley Ecological Park and 17-Mile House Park areas in Arapahoe County to help restore the ecosystem with 'Weed Pulling Parties". Scores of volunteers, often times in the hundreds, fan out in the parks' riparian areas and pull specific weeds identified for that event that are impacting the streams ability to perform water quality filtration during times of higher flows. These working "ed-ventures" are organized by the Cherry Creek Stewardship Partners and are highlighted on their website, www.cherry-creek.org. Please join us for these 4-hour journeys into the satisfying world of community stewardship!
Volunteers and a truck of weeds
Students getting a lesson in watershed nonpoint pollution sources at the Enviroscape Model.
World Monitoring Day, held October 18th each year, is an annual opportunity for people of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds to learn more about their local water resources while taking part in an important global water quality monitoring effort.
Southeast Metro Stormwater Authority (SEMSWA) including Centennial, Inverness WSD, and East Cherry Creek Valley WSD.Arapahoe County.Littleton.Glendale.Greenwood Village.Cherry Hills Village.Columbine Valley.Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority (ACWWA).E-470 Authority.Goldsmith Metro District.Colorado Department of Transportation
