Jessie Curl (APWP Program Coordinator) connects with Drs. Gary Hawkins, Alexis Hamilton, Camila Rodrigues, and Laurel Dunn at an instructional design summit in New Mexico.
Jessie jumped into 2025 with a trip to New Mexico!
AUWRC Staff member Jessie Curl traveled with Drs. Camila Rodrigues (Auburn University), Gary Hawkins (The University of Georgia (UGA)), Laurel Dunn (UGA), and Alexis Hamilton (Virginia Tech), to New Mexico State University for a Design Summit hosted by the Innovative Media Research and Extension Team.
This trip was part of a project led by Dr. Laurel Dunn aimed at helping home food-entrepreneurs navigate food safety laws, including the safe management of groundwater. The curriculum has a large emphasis on private well water management – a topic that Dr. Hawkins and Jessie are especially passionate about!
Managing a well comes with many challenges and choices. Older wells may lack records on depth, diameter, or pump settings, making it difficult to assess their condition. A wide range of water treatment options exists, each designed to address specific quality concerns, adding another layer of complexity. Well water testing can also be costly or difficult to find, adding an additional barrier. Issues like cracks in well casing or improperly sealed wellheads can compromise well integrity, increasing the risk of contamination. Reliable access to clean water is essential for safe food production, making proper well management a critical part of the process.
Dr. Laurel Dunn (UGA) describes the goals of the project to the group
After a day of storyboarding and planning educational materials, the team was taken on a trip to White Sands National Park. Great dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum dune field.
The Gypsum sand dunes of White Sands National Park
Jessie & Dr. Camila Rodrigues (AU) have been long-time collaborators!
Thank you for your continued support of the AL Private Well Program! We appreciate your engagement. Follow along with our program at the AUWRC website. For any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at alwells@auburn.edu.