WaterWired

U.S. Water Alliance Report: 'Advancing One Water Through Arts and Culture: A Blueprint for Action'

This report looks fascinating. Thanks to friend and colleague Lisa Beutler for sending it my way.

Download USWA_artsculture_FINAL

 Here is the preface from U.S. Water Alliance CEO Radhika Fox and ArtPlace America ED Jamie Bennett.

 Preface
The urgent and multifaceted nature of our water challenges
calls for new ways of thinking, acting, and investing.
Water leaders across the nation are embracing the One
Water approach—managing water resources in a more
integrated, inclusive, and sustainable manner in order to
secure a bright and prosperous future for our children,
communities, and country.

ArtPlace America and the US Water Alliance believe
there is tremendous opportunity to utilize arts and culture
strategies to advance One Water. As creative thinkers
and doers, artists can be powerful partners for water
leaders seeking to reimagine traditional approaches to
water planning and management and connect with
communities in new ways.

Our partnership has been a collaboration in the finest
sense of the word. Together we learned about each
other’s sectors, challenged assumptions, and have
developed a powerful framework for how to use arts and
culture to forge One Water progress. We are so inspired
by the creative ways that utilities, environmental groups,
public agencies, and other water practitioners are
collaborating with artists and cultural leaders. But it is
only the beginning.

We hope this blueprint sparks a new era of partnership
between arts, cultural, and water leaders in communities
across the country. To do so, we need to invest in building
a robust field of practice—one that cultivates the commitment
and capacity of the water sector and arts and culture
leaders to work in tandem.

I thought for sure my former UNM colleague Basia Irland would be in this report. She's quite remarkable.

Enjoy. 

“Combining water and sewer improvement projects with artwork, or something that attracts the attention of the community, is critical—because otherwise, the community doesn’t see the
progress of the work were doing.” - John Nichols, Rural Utility Management Services, Director, Alaska Rural Utility Collaborative

Planning, Fun, and Games in Reno. What Else? The Road to Shambala and Three Dog Night!

Another one of those productive '36 hours in (fill in the blank)' meetings. This one comes to you from 'The Biggest Little City in the World': Reno, Nevada. The photo is of Peavine Mountain, northwest of Reno, from my hotel room.

A subset of the Planning Committee for AWRA's IWRM Conference met yesterday at John Ascuaga's Nugget, recently sold to a group including new CEO Carlton L. Geer (who welcomed us), to set the preliminary program. The group included Ken Reid (Executive VP) and Dick Engberg (Technical Director) from AWRA Headquarters, John Tracy (conference chair); Jerry Sehlke, Lisa Beutler, Yung-Hsin Sun, Alan Heyvaert, Greg Pohll, and yours truly (Technical Chair).

 We developed a great program, to be unveiled soon.

I love these meetings: a small number of committed volunteers, sitting around a table, at a whiteboard, sticking papers on the wall, wandering around the room, huddling over computers, endeavoring to assemble the best program possible. Great support from AWRA's equally dedicated staff. I have said to some that this will be my last active role in conference development. With age 66 two months away, maybe it's time to back off. But they know I don't mean it.  

All this was topped off by a great dinner at the Nugget's Steakhouse Grill and another treat, courtesy of Director of Sales Greg Weinbender: 

 Three Dog Night? WTF? No, a rock band whose heyday was from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. Four of the seven original members are still performing: singers Cory Wells and Danny Hutton; guitarist Mike Allsup; and keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon.

 Excellent show - almost 75 minutes, with all their many hits and some new material as well. They did two great versions of Mama Told Me (Not To Come): the usual, and then a hilarious rap version.

We missed Eli's Coming but heard my favorite, Shambala.

And here's a frightening picture taken  by Lisa Sehlke - Greg Weinbender, Ken Reid, Dick Engberg, yours truly, and Jerry Sehlke:

Heading back home now, to put the finishing touches on the program. Tired, but rejuvenated.

Wash away my troubles, wash away my pain
With the rain in Shambala
Wash away my sorrow, wash away my shame
With the rain in Shambala 

Everyone is helpful, everyone is kind
On the road to Shambala
Everyone is lucky, everyone is so kind
On the road to Shambala
         --- words and music by Daniel Moore

Eric Heads Back to Neoliberal Future; Emily Takes Us Back to Last Week; I Go Back to The T.A.M.I. Show

Late getting to this on Sunday morning. Just happily 'wasted' two hours watching The T.A.M.I. Show DVD. Muy excelente!

Okay - on to water!

Emily Green takes us back to last week.

Eric Perramond takes us back to the neoliberal future and tackles access to water, human rights, and a number of other related issues. Fasten your seat belts.

Think I'll go back to The T.A.M.I. Show. Need to once again see and hear Gerry and the Pacemakers do Maybellene with Chuck Berry standing on stage.

“I did what I’d done many times in the Legislature — I lost.” — Kansas Agriculture Secretary Josh Svaty on his attempts to change water rights law to encourage conservation, “State aims to keep rivers flowing,” The Salina Journal

Oh, Mama, Talkin' 'Bout Them Ol' Quagga Blues - Songs About Aquatic Invasive Species

Elizabeth Goers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison sent me this story about a novel approach to stem the tide of aquatic invasive species: writing and singing songs about them.

MADISON — A new initiative at UW-Madison is using music to raise public awareness about aquatic invasive species in the state.

"Research shows music can influence how we respond to messages, affecting memory, emotion, attitudes, and even behavior," said Dr. Bret Shaw, Assistant Professor of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Environmental Communication Specialist for UW Extension. Shaw, who directed the project, recruited a group of award-winning Wisconsin songwriters to focus on preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species, which are threatening lakes in the state. "These songs were created to encourage behaviors that will protect the quality of our lakes and rivers for future generations," said Shaw.

These songs communicate a number of messages such as the importance of cleaning boats when moving them between bodies of water and not moving bait minnows from one lake to another if water has already been added from the first lake to the minnow bucket, which prevents VHS fish disease (viral hemorrhagic septicemia) from spreading from an infected to a non-infected lake. Natural resource professionals reviewed the lyrics of each song to assure scientific accuracy and consistency with current laws in Wisconsin.

The primary target audience for these songs are 35-55 year old fishermen who are most likely to move between lakes increasing the risk that aquatic invasive species can transfer from one body of water to another. The music was also designed to appeal to this demographic, with a focus on classic rock, country and folk.

The songs have received exposure on a number of radio stations throughout the state, and are also being distributed with help from the UW Extension Lakes Program, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Association of Lakes.
 
To listen to these songs and learn more about this initiative, visit the project's WWW site. 

"Man is a complex being who makes deserts bloom and lakes die." - G.B. Stern