Water Conservation Education Presented by Martha Cavazos Fipps City of McKinney Environmental Education Coordinator
McKinney Profile Located north of Dallas Fort Worth Collin County Seat Population 150,000+ 45% households in McKinney have children under 18 Average age of residents is 33-34 McKinney s rank in CNN's Money Magazine's list of Best Places To Live (2010 No. 5 & 2012 No. 2)
McKinney s Population Growth
Environmental Education Objectives Recycling Increase recycling participation Promote disposal programs FOG (fats, oils & grease) to reduce sewer system overflows Household Hazardous Waste Electronics Recycling Composting Partnership Meet Stormwater BMPs Water Protect Watershed Litter Abatement
Annual Participation Green Seminars Year Seminars Participation Avg. per Seminar 2011 15 434 28.9 2012 10 384 37.9 2013 22 1038 47.2 2014 17 621 36.5 2015 15 607 40.5
Green Seminars Educational Programs (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars - provides educational opportunities to residents) All seminars open with an overview and handout reference materials for the following: Household Hazardous Waste program including FOG and E-waste disposal (BMP 1.9 Bacteria Specific Outreach, promoted waste diversion) Current Water Restrictions (BMP 1.7 Public Reference) Upcoming event overview (green seminars and community events) Standard giveaway and promotional items at all seminars include: Toilet leak detector tablets (promotes water conservation) Energy conservation gaskets for electrical outlets and switches (promotes energy conservation) Food Scrapers (BMP 1.9 Bacteria Specific Outreach [promotes FOG program], BMP 1.11 Bilingual Information) Water Conservation hose nozzles (promotes water conservation) Water Moisture Meters (promotes water conservation) Printed materials from TAMU Agrilife promote cycle soak irrigation, rainwater harvesting, native/drought tolerant plants & trees and composting (BMP 1.7 Public Reference, BMP 1.9 Bacteria Specific Outreach) Printed materials from TCEQ Texas Commission on Environmental Quality promote native/drought tolerant plants & trees, use of chemicals in lawn and rainwater harvesting (BMP 1.9 Public Reference) Occasional giveaway and promotional items at some seminars and outreach events includes Water Moisture Meters (promotes water conservation) Low Flow Shower Heads (promotes water conservation) Gardening gloves made from recycled materials (promotes waste reduction and recycling) Zipit tool promotes proper disposal of sink & bathtub debris (promotes reduction of chemicals such as Drain-O) an alternative to over-use of chemicals and pollutants
Rainwater Harvesting 24% of program 23% of attendance Residents learn about rainwater harvesting and build a barrel during seminar. Promotes water pollution prevention and pesticide and fertilizer use (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars reducing discharge of pollutants into local waterways) Educates on current drought conditions, informs on water supply/source (lake levels), (promotes water conservation) Covers native & drought tolerant plants and trees. (BMP1.2 Texas SmartScape)
Irrigation Efficiency 22% of program 13% of attendance Promotes how to conserve water with existing current sprinkler system (promotes water consumption reduction) How to fix common problems like misdirected heads, pressure regulation and distribution uniformity (promotes water consumption reduction) Covers the latest irrigation technology including converting to drip irrigation (promotes water consumption reduction) Enhancing landscape with native & drought tolerant plants and trees. (BMP 1.2 Texas SmartScape)
Kid Workshops 9% of program 5% of attendance Urban Stew Fred the Fish Lesson (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars reducing discharge of pollutants into local water ways, BMP 1.4 Classroom Education) Birds in your backyard T-shirt converts into reusable bag (promos litter prevention)
Food Gardening 16% of program 25% of attendance Promotes composting (waste reduction and diversion) Promotes proper use of pesticide and fertilizer use (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars reducing discharge of pollutants into local waterways) Promotes rainwater harvesting (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars reducing discharge of pollutants into local waterways)
Drought Landscape 20% of program 22% of attendance Promotes using native and drought tolerant plants and trees in landscape to reduce water consumption (BMP1.2 Texas SmartScape) Promotes composting (waste reduction and diversion) Promotes proper use of pesticide and fertilizer use (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars reducing discharge of pollutants into local waterways) Promotes rainwater harvesting (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars reducing discharge of pollutants into local waterways)
Composting 8% of program 10% of attendance Promotes waste reduction by teaching residents to compost yard and food waste at home. (promotes waste reduction) Promotes using compost to fertilize instead of using chemicals (BMP 1.18 Green Seminars reducing discharge of pollutants into local waterways) Promotes City Composting Partnership. The yard waste (grass, leaves and branches) collected by Progressive Waste Solutions (formerly IESI) from residents in the city of McKinney is taken to the Regional Composting facility in Plano. The Plano facility is also shared with the cities of Richardson, Allen and Frisco (promotes waste reduction)
Kid Workshop 9% Educational Offerings by Topic 2011-2015 PERCENT OF PROGRAM Composting 8% Rainwater Harvesting 25% Drought Landscaping 20% Food Gardening 16% Irrigation 22%
Educational Attendance by Topic 2011-2015 PERCENT OF OVERALL ATTENDANCE Composting 10% Rainwater Harvesting 24% Drought Landscaping 22% Irrigation 13% Food Gardening 26% Kid Workshop 5%
Annual Participation Green Seminars by Topic Topic Rainwater Harvesting Number Seminars 2011 to 2015 Percent of Seminar Program Total Attendance by topic Average Attendance per seminar 19 24% 745 39.2 23% Irrigation 17 22% 417 24.5 13% Kid Workshop 7 9% 180 25.7 5% Food Gardening 13 16% 802 61.7 25% Drought Landscape 16 20% 693 43 22% Composting 7 8% 329 47 10% Total 79 3166 40.6 Percent of Attendance Overall
Partner Organizations Collin County Master Gardeners Texas A & M Agrilife Water Team Volunteer McKinney Chamber of Commerce Venues Library Chamber of Commerce Fire Stations
Publicizing Green Seminars & Events Environmental Green Newsletter 6200 subscribers City E-newsletter 47,000 subscribers City Facebook Page 20,000 subscribers City Twitter Page 9000 subscribers
Email Management
Email Management
Event Management
Event Management
Event Management
Water Conservation Education Presented by Martha Cavazos Fipps City of McKinney Environmental Education Coordinator972- Email: mcavazos@mckinneytexas.org Phone: 972-547-7335