Fresno, CA – May is Water Awareness Month and the California Water Institute (CWI) – Research and Education Division at Fresno State is set to host its annual Water Bootcamp, a virtual series aimed at educating people about the complex water system in California.
“Water is so critical to the Valley and a lot of us just know that it comes out of our tap, we don’t know where it’s coming from,” said Laura Ramos, interim director of CWI’s Research and Education Division.
The origin of Water Awareness Month can be traced back to the California Drought of 1987-1992 when it was launched as a collaborative initiative between the California Department of Water Resources and the Association of CA Water Agencies. The main purpose of Water Awareness Month is to raise public awareness about the importance of water conservation, the value of water as a natural resource, and the need to use it wisely and sustainably.
Additionally, Water Awareness Month seeks to educate people about the various water-related issues facing their community and the measures being taken to address them. Various water agencies across the state now organize public outreach and educational activities every May to raise awareness about these issues.
For its part, the California Water Institute will host its annual Water Bootcamp, a free multi-day, virtual series dedicated to water education. The boot camp, hosted in partnership with World Ag Expo® and open to all, will be held every Wednesday in May. It will tackle topics including hydrology, groundwater, surface water, water rights, and stormwater quality.
“It’s learning about the water that comes out of the faucet, how it’s treated, how it arrives to you, and what you can do to help the water issues in the Valley,” Ramos said, adding the Water Bootcamp was created as introductory sessions on different water issues to give the public a better understanding of what is going on across the state.
“As people hear more about these topics in the news, they’ll understand a little bit more of the background on what these issues are so that the news is more meaningful to them,” she said.
Three of the Water Bootcamp days will be held in English and one of the days will be held in Spanish. Each individual session is about 20-30 minutes long and will also include a Q&A portion. Participants can choose to attend one session, an entire day, or even the entire multi-day series.
“The sessions build upon each other, but they also stand alone,” Ramos said.
For more information or to register for California Water Institute’s Water Bootcamp, visit https://bit.ly/WAE23WaterBootcamp.
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California Water Institute Research and Education Division addresses water-related issues by engaging Fresno State’s faculty, staff, students, and its collaborative network of water experts. Form teams to pursue current and sustainable water resource management solutions through education, collaboration, and research. To learn more visit http://www.californiawater.org/.
The International Agri-Center® is home to World Ag Expo®, February 13-15, 2024 in Tulare, California. An estimated annual average of 102,000 individuals from 65 countries attend World Ag Expo® each year. The largest annual agricultural show of its kind, World Ag Expo® hosts more than 1,200 exhibitors displaying cutting-edge agricultural technology and equipment on 2.6 million square feet of show space. Learn more at www.worldagexpo.com.