UD's Water Resources Agency involved with summer program
12:35 p.m., July 1, 2011--The city of Wilmington is partnering with
seven environmental organizations to launch a Green Jobs Program
employing eight teenagers this summer. Starting Tuesday, July 5, each
intern will work 25 hours per week earning minimum wage for six weeks.
Their first assignment will be landscaping and removing invasive plants
at the DuPont Environmental Education Center.
Thereafter they will improve trails, maintain trees, pick up litter, plant gardens, and spruce up parks. But according to Martha Corrozi Narvaez, associate policy scientist at the University of Delawares Water Resources Agency, a program unit of the Institute for Public Administration in the School of Public Policy Administration, that is just the beginning of a summer of professional tasks they will perform.
We are going to train the interns to reduce water pollution using
tactics we use as professionals, said Narvaez. By the end of the
summer, among other things, they will learn how to label storm drains
and build rain gardens, both of which prevent runoff from polluting
local waterways.
According to the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, stormwater
runoff is one of the leading causes of water pollution in Wilmington.
This occurs whenever rain or snowmelt washes pollutants into sewers or
waterways.
Each participant in the Green Jobs Program is being paired with a
mentor. These and other experts will provide guidance, training, and
insight into a variety of environmental careers.
The Green Jobs Program will culminate on Aug. 12 with a barbeque at
the Challenge Programs new LEED Gold headquarters on the Christina
Riverfront. With stormwater runoff being such a critical component of
the program, the location of its closing event is no accident. The
Challenge Programs headquarters has an innovative stormwater-management
system, including planters filled with native plants and a rain garden.
Stormwater collects in the sawtooth roof and then filters through the
planters, after which it is stored in a cistern to be reused for
irrigation and flushing the toilets. During the event, participants and
interns will speak about their experiences for relatives, friends, and
honored guests.
In addition to the citys Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments, those involved in the program include:
- Delaware Center for Horticulture
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
- Delaware Nature Society
- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
- The Challenge Program
- UD's Water Resources Agency
- Urban Environmental Center
Each organization will be providing the interns with hands-on work
experience and environmental education that introduces them to
environmental issues and careers.
Recruiting for next summers Green Jobs Program will begin in
February 2012. Applications are available at the city of Wilmington
Department of Parks and Recreation.
Originally published by UDaily.
