Starting this month, Iowa groups seeking to implement innovative regional and local Clean Water Awareness and Education Campaigns can apply for funding from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Watershed Improvement Section.
Educational campaigns will improve public knowledge of and promote actions to reduce nonpoint source pollution and improve water quality. The DNR seeks projects that will use innovative methods for reaching diverse audiences and stakeholder groups. Campaigns must be achievable in the grant’s 18-month timeframe.
These grants were developed after the DNR contracted with the University of Northern Iowa to survey Iowa’s residents in 2015 to measure their knowledge of water quality and identify potential behavior changes. The program is the next step in the Nonpoint Source Management Plan. For more details, see Objective 2.5 of Goal 2 of Iowa’s Nonpoint Source Management Plan and the results of the survey. To track progress, the survey will be repeated when grant-based educational campaigns are completed.
For more information, see here.
