As part of expanding our outreach efforts to new audiences, NTMWD Public Education staff are sharing the vital water conservation messages at several libraries in our service area.
Rita & Truett Smith Public Library (Wylie, Texas)
On Friday, June 3rd, NTMWD hosted a booth at the Wylie Summer Kick-Off Party held at the Rita & Truett Smith Public Library in Wylie. As one of the most popular draws at the event, Bobbi Bryan, Water Resource Assistant, and Library volunteers helped long lines of attendees get one of our tote bags with a pressed color-ons of Water4Otter. Everyone worked together to create a fun assembly line with kids picking up the color-on template, coloring it in their own way, and then getting them pressed on at our table. We ended up distributing 200 bags to children with the characters of Water4Otter ironed on, so it is estimated that we saw over 400 people at our table over the course of the half-day event. Many parents thanked us for being part of the event and stated how much their kids appreciated the activity at the event.
Princeton Public Library
The 2022 theme for several public library summer reading programs is Oceans of Possibilities. This water-centric theme lead to NTMWD Public Outreach teaming up with several libraries in the region including the Princeton Public Library. NTMWD will be a featured presenter in three story times. The first was on June 15th when 35 children and 20 adults saw a demonstration of how pollution can move through a watershed and end up in Lavon Lake. The children learned ways they can curb water pollution such as picking up after their pets, helping their parents collect grass clippings and not littering. Families took home Water4Otter items.
On June 28th, the children in the summer reading program will see a live, virtual tour of the Wylie Water Treatment Plant. The tour will be shown at the Princeton Public Library so the audience can see where their water comes from, how the water is cleaned and ask NTMWD staff questions.
On July 13th, NTMWD staff will revisit the library and demonstrate wastewater treatment, which is another service offered by NTMWD. Also on July 13th, NTMWD will be in the gallery of the Allen Public Library in conjunction with the City of Allen staff. Visitors can see a water quality demonstration, get water conservation tips and sign up for the Water My Yard tool.
