To encourage stewardship of the nation's water resources, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is leading an "Adopt Your Watershed" campaign. Through this effort, EPA challenges citizens and organizations to join us and others who are working to protect and restore our valuable rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes, ground water, and estuaries. By visiting our on-line database, you can learn about opportunities to get involved in activities in your community, such as monitoring, cleanups, and restoration projects. As of September 2004, the database has nearly 4,000 groups that you might want to join.

World Water Monitoring Day is an annual event that affords students and teachers, Scouts, families, and others the opportunity to get involved in local watershed activities. Between September 18 and October 18, you can go out to your local stream, lake, bay or wetland and test a water sample for a few basic characteristics- dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity (water clarity) and pH. All you need to be part of this worldwide educational event is a simple monitoring kit and a desire to become acquainted with the waterbody in your neighborhood. To find out how to order a monitoring kit, register your site, and report your data, visit http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org. Be sure to read up on the instructions, including safety hints, before you go out monitoring. Go to Celebrate Monitoring Month for educational materials you can order from EPA.

For other ideas on how you can help, check out the Watershed Patch Project. This is a collection of watershed activities designed for schools, science clubs, and community organizations. Once students complete the requisite number of activities, educators can download certificates right from the web!

Or check out Ten Things You Can Do to Make a Difference in Your Watershed. Also, find out what Girl Scouts are doing to help protect their local watersheds through the Water Drop Patch Project.

Follow these links to find out more about what you can do for watersheds:

• Watershed Information Network
• International Coastal Cleanup
• Wetlands Protection

Information presented in the Adopt Your Watershed database does not constitute an official endorsement by EPA of any particular group's policies, activities, or positions on federal or state legislation.