By Jayla Poppleton

{STEAL THIS!}

Credit: Doug Pieper, Flickr

It’s the start of another new year, when the world feels full of possibility. Here at Water Education Colorado, we’re kicking off 2018 by first acknowledging our deep gratitude for the community we’re part of. THANK YOU to everyone who contributed in ways big and small in 2017 to make our work possible. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—we couldn’t do it without you!

Because of you, we’re thinking bigger than ever about the impact we can have for Colorado. Our mission is critical, and we’ve made a renewed commitment to making our programs and resources accessible to more Coloradans. As we move forward, it’s incredibly important to us that we involve our friends and colleagues. Working together is so much more rewarding, after all.

So as 2018 begins, we call on you to consider NEW ways to help us make this a BIG year for Coloradans. Together we can help more people understand water’s importance to everything that makes Colorado such a great place to live. We can provide them with the knowledge, relationships and trainings that will help them contribute to a sustainable water future for all.

Here’s some ideas to kickstart your thinking. What will you resolve to do for water education in 2018?

1. Go on tour. If you’ve never been, this is your year. Resolve to do it, now! We’ll be peddling the Poudre on our Urban Waters Bike Tour in May, spending two days on our Annual River Basin Tour in the San Luis Valley in June, and looping through the northern Front Range flood recovery zone for a 5^th Anniversary Flood Tour in September. Details will be available in early spring. WEco members receive advance notice and the first opportunity to register for all events.
2. Offer your expertise. We’re always looking for presenters for our programs as well as peer reviewers for our publications. Let us know what you’re an expert on, or what you’d be interested in sharing about, and we’ll work to plug you in. Contact stephanie@yourwatercolorado.org.
3. Make a personal financial commitment to help grow the impact and reach of Water Education Colorado. The best way to get started? Become a member. Thanks to everyone who committed through membership dues and donations at the end of 2017, we’re well on our way to reaching more people than ever in 2018. If you didn’t have a chance, we’d love to see you become part of our community of people who care about water by investing in education. Visit www.yourwatercolorado.org/join-now.

4. Showcase your organization’s commitment to Water Education Colorado’s mission by sponsoring our annual President’s Reception in May 2018. Find information here. This don’t-miss event got even more exciting last year with a live auction. Watch for the big announcement about this year’s award recipients and save the date, coming soon.
5. Join the conversation by contributing a post to the Your Water Colorado Blog. We welcome guest submissions featuring news and views from around the state. Tell us about what you’re up to. You’ll find our blog policy and guidance document here.
6. Elevate your engagement via social media. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and share our posts to help spread the word about Colorado water. #DiveIn #JoinTheConversation
7. Step out as a community leader and spur local engagement. WEco staff are looking for individuals interested in helping to organize informal educational events in local communities around the state. All you need is a relevant topic, a speaker or two, a venue, and some publicity. We’re here to help! Contact sophie@yourwatercolorado.org.
8. Host a discussion group using the latest issue of Headwaters magazine as a starting point. Assign articles from our digital archive, accessible here. Take it one step further and have your group devise a possible solution to an issue raised in the magazine. Share it with us and we’ll post your ideas. Email caitlin@yourwatercolorado.org.
9. Become a WEco ambassador by referring colleagues, friends, even neighbors to our programs and resources. You could also host a “friend-raising” event in your home or workplace to invite others to learn about the importance of water and water education and how they could become a WEco member. Contact us for ideas: jayla@yourwatercolorado.org.
10. Don’t be a stranger. Stop by our booth at Water Congress later this month. Come to our events. And you’re always welcome to pop in at 1750 N. Humboldt. You never know what else we might come up with for you to do!