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I began working with the AWW Program in 2009, and have been the Program Director for Alabama Water Watch since 2017 and have been coordinating the 4-H AWW Program since about 2013. Before that, I was the AWW Volunteer Monitor Coordinator and Rock Creek Watershed Management Plan Coordinator. Through each of those roles and through other responsibilities I have with the Water Resources Center, I\u2019ve gained many new skills, a plethora of knowledge regarding water science, restoration, policy, and youth development.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For my undergrad degree, I went to The University of the South in Sewanee, TN where I earned a B.A. in Anthropology with a Concentration in Environmental Studies. Afterwards, I worked in environmental education for several years, including a 2-and-a-half-year stint as a Community and Environmental Conservation volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Panama.<\/span><\/p>\n I came to Auburn University in 2008 to pursue my Masters in Community Planning<\/span> (MCP)<\/span>. During my second year of that program, I came across an announcement for an Internship with AWW to assist with a watershed management plan for the Smith Lake area. The experience with watershed planning I had through that internship became the focus of my MCP Synthesis Project. <\/span>Specifically, I investigated the value of stakeholder involvement in the watershed planning process. <\/span>Because we were able to secure grant funding<\/span> from the AL Department of Environmental Management<\/span> to support implementation of the Rock Creek Watershed Plan, the experience helped me land my fulltime position with AWW<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>which eventually became part of <\/span>the <\/span>Auburn<\/span> University<\/span> Water Resources Center<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n My academic background is a little different that of most people who work in the water world, but I feel that it has served me incredibly well in my position leading AWW, which is a citizen science program. Being able to consider that we all have different lived experiences that contribute to diverse worldviews, encourages me to open my mind when considering ways to reach new audiences, address citizen concerns, and encourage collaboration to achieve solutions to water quality issues. We must figure out what is important to people before we can make water important to them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n It was an immense honor to be named Program Director for AWW as it is recognized on a national and even global scale as a leading volunteer water monitoring program. In the last thirty years, the program has certified nearly 9,000 citizens as water monitors who have collected about 107,000 water chemistry, bacteriological, and stream biomonitoring data records. Countless water quality success stories can be attributed to the powerful combination of citizen collected, credible water data and an increased understanding of linkages between land-based pollution and water quality, which is at the heart of AWW\u2019s training materials and education strategies. Since establishing the 4-H AWW Program, close to 40,000 students in Alabama have been involved. It is exciting to think about how the positive water science experiences youth are having because of 4-H AWW is impacting their futures and the future of water resources in Alabama.<\/span><\/p>\n Responsibilities associated with my position are quite varied, and I do believe that variety is the spice of life! <\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span> never been bored since joining the team <\/span>13 years ago. <\/span>I have the opportunity to develop training materials and curriculum, teach adults and youth to conduct water monitoring, write grants to support our work, <\/span>plan events of all shapes and sizes, <\/span>build new partnerships with other <\/span>institutions and <\/span>organizations, <\/span>problem solve, analyze and interpret data, communicate water science to people all over the state, and let\u2019s don\u2019t forget \u2013 play in the creek<\/span> (although not as often as I would like)<\/span>!\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/Dominguez-Headshot-1-scaled.jpg” alt=”Mona Dominguez headshot” title_text=”Dominguez Headshot” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Mona Dominguez of the\u00a0 Auburn University Water Resources Center.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/aaes.auburn.edu\/wrc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/Mona-looking-at-ag-bmps-installed-as-part-of-rcwmp.jpg” alt=”Mona looking at ag bmps installed as part of Rock Creek WMP.” title_text=”Mona looking at ag bmps installed as part of rcwmp” _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Mona looking at agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) installed as part of Rock Creek WMP. Photo Credit: Bill Deutsch<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n AWW is\u00a0moving into the second year of utilizing a hybrid training model (including online and in-person components). We are posting new training opportunities for 2023 and can\u2019t wait to meet our next batch of water watchers. If you know of someone who is interested in getting certified, please share our <\/span>Events<\/span><\/a> page with them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I hope everyone knows by now that the AUWRC believes in collaboration.\u00a0 For AWW, partnering helps us to reach new audiences for trainings, and often result in opportunities to provide volunteers with monitoring materials. Collaborators include cities, agencies, nonprofits, and other universities. AWW has several new and ongoing partnerships for the coming year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We will continue to work with the USDA Forest Service to support the water monitoring network we established through a <\/span>USDA CitSci Fund project<\/span><\/a>. Just in the past year, project volunteers contributed a total of 1,039 volunteer hours, valued at $31,118 which was a 238% increase from 2021. The sites they monitor are in priority watersheds on the National Forests of Alabama, which were identified through the USDA Forest Service\u2019s Watershed Condition Framework which establishes a consistent, comparable, and credible process for improving the health of watersheds on national forests.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our February workshop will be supported in part by a NFWF Five Star Restoration Project that was awarded to the City of Auburn. We hope to recruit volunteers who can help monitor the effectiveness of a stream restoration project they will install near the wastewater treatment plant on Parkerson Mill Creek in Auburn. You can read more about that project in this <\/span>press release.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In March, we will conduct water monitoring trainings at the Birmingham Zoo. One of our newest AWW Trainers is the Zoo\u2019s Education Coordinator. This training is part of an NSF funded project being led by the <\/span>Krueger-Hadfield Evolutionary Ecology Lab<\/span><\/a> at the University of Alabama in Birmingham that is focused on freshwater red algae. AWW volunteer monitors can play an important role in identifying habitat of freshwater red algae throughout the state just by submitting photos of their stream sites to the Lab (anyone can do so by following the <\/span>project instructions<\/span><\/a>). They will also learn how to collect freshwater red algae samples for the project in addition to their certification as AWW monitors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Several of the 2023 trainings will be part of our continued work with our WRC sister program, <\/span>Alabama Watershed Stewards<\/span><\/a>. We are working to prepare communities to collect data about their watersheds, many of which include impaired waterbodies that are on the ADEM 303d list. The overarching goal is to encourage development of watershed management plans that address the impairments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDescribe your upcoming outreach activities and projects with the AUWRC.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n