This presentation was given by Alexandra Walczak, former Americorps Watershed Ambassador, at the NJ Confluence on 11/13/15.

1. AmeriCorps Watershed
Ambassadors and Their
Benefit to the Host Agency
Alexandra Walczak
Former Ambassador for WMA 8
Raritan Headwaters Association

2. DEP Water Education & Outreach Programs

3. AmeriCorps NJ Watershed
Ambassadors Program
Hosted by NJDEP’s Division of Water Monitoring and Standa
20 Ambassadors in the 20 watershed management areas of the
Members work with a host agency located within each waters
Members act as a liaison between NJDEP and the community

4. AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassadors Program
Apply directly through the National Service Portal
Requirements:
Must have a 4 year degree
Must have a reliable car (lots of driving)
Willingness to learn and spend time outside
What you get-
Living stipend
Education award upon successful completion
Tons of Experience in:
Project Management
Office skills
Public Speaking
Field Work

5. Environmental Community Service Program
Raise Public Awareness about Water and Watersheds (50 Presentatio
• Stewardship and Partnership Projects (8 projects)
rain gardens and rain barrels
stream clean ups
training workshops
• Water Monitoring (40 Assessments)
AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassadors Program

6. Watershed Ambassadors
atershed Stewardship
• What is it?
• Behavior change
• Volunteer participation

7. Watershed Ambassadors
Partnership Projects
Stream & Park Clean-ups
Community Day Events
Water Festivals
Rain Barrels & Gardens
Tree Plantings
Watershed Hikes/Tours
Bioblitz
Invasive Species Pulls

8. Watershed Education and Outreach
Goal: Reducing water pollution through behavior change
for a cleaner & healthier J
~Best way is to inspire and educate the next generation~
Completed 78 presentations

9. NJ Watershed Ambassadors
Watershed Stewardship Projects
Volunteer Monitoring Training
• Biological and Visual Assessments of water quality
• 2 with RHA and 3 with community groups

10. Priority Watershed Project
DEP assigns or Ambassador to picks area of interest within
watershed
I was assigned 4 sites by DEP and then picked an additional
12 sites with RHA’s assistance
I worked with RHA to fill in gaps in their stream monitoring
program
Helped to train new volunteers that would take over
locations in future years
Data submitted to both DEP and RHA as a final report

11. hat did I get out of
s experience?
Tons of Experience in:
• Project Management
• Completed 10 stewardship projects plus host agency project
• Time Management and Office Skills
• Public Speaking- 78+ Presentations
• Numerous opportunities to develop this invaluable skill
• Field Work
• Close discussion and coordination to meet both your goals
• Routine and learning about Quality Control
• Networking and Life Long Friends

12. Thank You