The Silver City Watershed Keepers is a citizens' water resources stewardship program that engages community members in protection and restoration of the Silver City Watershed.
OCTOBER EVENTS
Pick It Up - Toss No Mas Cleanup - Saturday, October 15, 9 am - noon
JUNE EVENTS
Nature Discovery Summer Camps
With support from the New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund, the Silver City Watershed Keepers is offering a free Nature Discovery Summer Camp for rising 4th, 5th and 6th graders. The summer camp is designed and delivered by professional educators to provide campers with a connection to nature through discovery and exploration of the natural world, including native plants, insects, birds, fish, mammals, stream ecology, and watershed health. Campers will also learn about our cultural history through field trips to the Dragonfly Site, Mimbres Cultural Heritage site, and the Mimbres River. Activities include hiking, nature observation and journaling, art projects, and more!
The camp will be held Monday through Friday from 9 am - 3 pm during the month of June. Four camp sessions are scheduled for June 6 - 10 at Big Ditch Park in Silver City; June 13 - 17 at Big Ditch Park in Silver City; June 20 - 24 at Bayard Public Library in Bayard; and June 27 - July 1 at Bayard Public Library in Bayard.
The camp is free. Free lunches and snacks will also be provided. We are working with the school districts to provide free transportation for campers to/from their homes if needed.
To register your child for one of the four summer camp sessions, please fill out the form using the link below. Participation is capped at 20 campers per session.
The camp will be held Monday through Friday from 9 am - 3 pm during the month of June. Four camp sessions are scheduled for June 6 - 10 at Big Ditch Park in Silver City; June 13 - 17 at Big Ditch Park in Silver City; June 20 - 24 at Bayard Public Library in Bayard; and June 27 - July 1 at Bayard Public Library in Bayard.
The camp is free. Free lunches and snacks will also be provided. We are working with the school districts to provide free transportation for campers to/from their homes if needed.
To register your child for one of the four summer camp sessions, please fill out the form using the link below. Participation is capped at 20 campers per session.
MAY EVENTS
Get to Know Your Watershed Speaker Series
From Calamity to Celebration: The Ongoing Story of the Big Ditch
May 28th, 10:00 am to 11:00 am at the Silco Theater, 311 North Bullard Street, Silver City
Historian and writer Susan Berry has been exploring the personalities and stories of southwest New Mexico for over four decades. During a long career with the Silver City Museum she served on the committee that launched the Big Ditch Park initiative and was among the founders of Silver City MainStreet. She co-authored Built to Last: An Architectural History of Silver City, New Mexico and has published numerous articles on regional history. "From Calamity to Celebration: The Ongoing Story of the Big Ditch” will revisit Silver City’s ill-fated Main Street and the devastating floods that carved out the Big Ditch, going on to cover early stabilization work and the gradual transformation of this former eyesore into a community asset.
Pick It Up Toss No Mas
Celebrate Earth Day 2022 with
Community-wide Trash Cleanup and Planting
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World Water Day 2022
Celebrating Groundwater
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Dylan is a licensed professional geologist with a Master’s degree in Applied Geosciences from San Francisco State University. Throughout his career, he has pursued his passions for geomorphology, hydrology, severe weather/natural disasters, and science communication. He is a part-time Senior Hydrogeologist at a California-based environmental consulting firm, and owner of Stratus Environmental, LLC, a environmental consulting business that specializes in property due diligence, water resources management, water supply evaluations, and environmental impact assessments. A relatively new resident in Silver City, he is excited to share some of what he has learned about publicly-available web resources to assess local hydrology and watershed characteristics.
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Pick It Up Toss No Mas
Partners for a Healthy Watershed Part II
Pick It Up Toss No Mas
Partners for a Healthy Watershed
Water Quality Monitoring Event
The Silver City Watershed Keepers (SCWK) will host a Water Quality Monitoring event on Saturday, December 18th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at four testing sites along San Vicente Creek. SCWK conduct quarterly water quality monitoring to collect data that provides current information on the health of our local water. The data is then submitted to the state to create an overall picture of the health of our waterways throughout New Mexico. At this event, SCWK will train participants in state approved techniques used to test the perennial reach of San Vicente Creek.
State agencies test San Vicente Creek every seven years or so which is not enough to stay ahead of potential, serious threats to our watershed. Although tests are taken of the surface water, the same potential threats impact our groundwater. “Groundwater is the source of our drinking water here in Silver City,“ says Silver City Watershed Keepers coordinator Leigh Jenkins. “Pollution from stormwater runoff, litter and animal waste threaten the health of the water that runs through San Vicente Creek. In order to respond to potential threats in a timely manner, we feel strongly that quarterly, seasonal monitoring is the best way to determine issues that impact both human and wildlife in this riparian area”. The collection of quarterly data allows us to analyze any changes to water quality in order to proactively address threats to watershed health.
The monitoring event will take place at four sampling sites along the creek. Join us for testing at one site or all four. The event is family friendly and suitable for all age groups. Some walking is required to get to all four sites. Participants should bring a water bottle and wear sturdy shoes. We will be following COVID-safe practices: social distancing is required and facemasks are optional since the event will take place outdoors.
State agencies test San Vicente Creek every seven years or so which is not enough to stay ahead of potential, serious threats to our watershed. Although tests are taken of the surface water, the same potential threats impact our groundwater. “Groundwater is the source of our drinking water here in Silver City,“ says Silver City Watershed Keepers coordinator Leigh Jenkins. “Pollution from stormwater runoff, litter and animal waste threaten the health of the water that runs through San Vicente Creek. In order to respond to potential threats in a timely manner, we feel strongly that quarterly, seasonal monitoring is the best way to determine issues that impact both human and wildlife in this riparian area”. The collection of quarterly data allows us to analyze any changes to water quality in order to proactively address threats to watershed health.
The monitoring event will take place at four sampling sites along the creek. Join us for testing at one site or all four. The event is family friendly and suitable for all age groups. Some walking is required to get to all four sites. Participants should bring a water bottle and wear sturdy shoes. We will be following COVID-safe practices: social distancing is required and facemasks are optional since the event will take place outdoors.
PAST EVENTS
Pick It Up Toss No Mas Trash Bash
Community Cleanup
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Adopt-A-Stream
Stream Stewardship Workshop
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The Silver City Watershed Keepers (SCWK) will kick off its Adopt-A-Stream Program with a Stream Stewardship Workshop on Saturday, August 28th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM in Big Ditch Park. The Adopt-A-Stream program empowers citizens to steward our waterways by monitoring environmental quality of streams, cleaning up litter, and restoring riparian areas. The Stream Stewardship Workshop will train participants in environmental quality monitoring of the watershed with an easy-to-use app that can be accessed on a smartphone.
Silver City Watershed Keepers Adopt-A-Stream Program Forms
Rainwater Harvesting Bike Tour
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On July 24, 2021, Silver City Watershed Keepers hosted a bike tour of rainwater harvesting sites in the Silver City area. The watershed keepers partnered with Stream Dynamics and The Bikeworks to host 22 participants in this gentle cycle to several of the rainwater harvesting projects designed and built by Van Clothier of Stream Dynamics. After the event, participants gathered at the Bikeworks for lunch and a presentation by Van. The Bikeworks provided bicycles to those participants who did not have a bike.
World Water Day 2021
The Silver City Daily Press covered the Community Action Day in Big Ditch Park on Saturday, March 20th in celebration of
World Water Day.
World Water Day.
This year's World Water Day theme is all about how we value water in our communities. Silver City Watershed Keepers would like you to join the conversation (#Water2me) about what water means to you. How is water important to your home and family life, your livelihood, your cultural practices, your well being, your local environment? Join us for a COVID-safe, socially distanced 'Community Action Day' on Saturday, March 20th from 9 am to 12 pm at Big Ditch Park for water quality monitoring, trash pick-up, and stream restoration projects. We will meet at the north end of the parking lot at the Murray Ryan Visitor's Center. This is a COVID-safe event, so please bring a mask, your own water bottle, work gloves and a hat. We will provide trash bags, trash pickers, nitrile gloves and snacks.
Also, join us again on Monday, March 22nd from 3 pm to 5 pm for our virtual panel discussion hosted from the Bayard Public Library featuring community members Priscilla Lucero, Executive Director of the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments; Joe Saenz, owner of WolfHorse Outfitters and member of the Chiricahua Apache Nation; Alicia Edwards, Healthy Kids Healthy Communities Grant County; and Lee Gruber, Executive Director of Southwest New Mexico ACT for a discussion about what water means to each of us. https://tinyurl.com/WorldWaterDay2021
We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to all our partners who supported this event: AmeriCorps, Rebecca Summer with the local CoCoRaHS network, Don Graves with the Gila Native Plant Society, Alicia Edwards with Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Grant County, Tricia Hurley with Lone Mountain Natives Nursery, Lee Gruber with Southwest New Mexico Arts, Culture and Tourism, Priscilla Lucero with Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, Joe Saenz with Wolfhorse outfitters and the Chiricahua Apache Nation, Aldo Leopold Charter SchoolYouth Conservation Corp Eco-Monitors and Garden Crew, Community Youth Build, Cate Bradley, Kristen Lundgren, the Town of Silver City, Diane's Restaurant, Gila National Forest Service, Gila Resources Information Project staff and volunteers.
For more information, contact Leigh Jenkins at silvercitywatershedkeepers@gmail.com.
Also, join us again on Monday, March 22nd from 3 pm to 5 pm for our virtual panel discussion hosted from the Bayard Public Library featuring community members Priscilla Lucero, Executive Director of the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments; Joe Saenz, owner of WolfHorse Outfitters and member of the Chiricahua Apache Nation; Alicia Edwards, Healthy Kids Healthy Communities Grant County; and Lee Gruber, Executive Director of Southwest New Mexico ACT for a discussion about what water means to each of us. https://tinyurl.com/WorldWaterDay2021
We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to all our partners who supported this event: AmeriCorps, Rebecca Summer with the local CoCoRaHS network, Don Graves with the Gila Native Plant Society, Alicia Edwards with Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Grant County, Tricia Hurley with Lone Mountain Natives Nursery, Lee Gruber with Southwest New Mexico Arts, Culture and Tourism, Priscilla Lucero with Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, Joe Saenz with Wolfhorse outfitters and the Chiricahua Apache Nation, Aldo Leopold Charter SchoolYouth Conservation Corp Eco-Monitors and Garden Crew, Community Youth Build, Cate Bradley, Kristen Lundgren, the Town of Silver City, Diane's Restaurant, Gila National Forest Service, Gila Resources Information Project staff and volunteers.
For more information, contact Leigh Jenkins at silvercitywatershedkeepers@gmail.com.
Joe Saenz of the Chiricahua Apache Nation and WolfHorse Outfitters, speaks about the meaning of water in the Apache culture. Join the conversation: #Water2me
Listen to what Priscilla Lucero, Executive Director of the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, has to say about how she values water in her community. Join the conversation: #Water2me
SCWK 10th Anniversary
While the COVID-19 pandemic made its mark in 2020 by shutting down many community events, Silver City Watershed Keepers (SCWK) moved forward with programs to promote watershed education, water quality monitoring, water conservation, trash removal and climate resilience, all while promoting the COVID safe practices of social distancing and masking-up.
In late January, students from Guadalupe Montessori traveled on foot to downtown Silver City to speak with professionals about the impact of trash, in particular plastics, in our waterways as part of an Earth Force research project. The group of nine fourth and fifth grade students interviewed Allyson Siwik about the important work GRIP was doing, they met with county commissioner Alicia Edwards about county ordinances concerning trash in the local waterways, and visited mayor Ken Ladner where they discussed the Toss No Mas program. The students ended their day with water quality monitoring in San Vicente Creek. Students helped to collect data at Site 1 as part of SCWK’s first quarter monitoring of 2020.
In late February, SCWK partnered with Snell Middle School in a 2-day event to promote water education in the classroom and in the field. Professional conservation advocates spoke to students about water harvesting, geo-morphological and hydrological events that led to the formation of Big Ditch Park, the definition of a watershed, and how environmental water quality monitoring is conducted at the local mines. The following day, 80 middle school students traveled to Silver City for a direct experience in the watershed that included water quality monitoring, native plant identification, a museum display explaining the formation of the Big Ditch, and a presentation about Cut Your Waste Grant County, a program designed to change our consumption habits. There was an emphasis placed on the consumption of plastics and their negative impact on our waterways and ecosystem in general. Students participated in a short meditation designed to emphasize how we are connected to Earth and our environment.
World Water Day was celebrated early in March at the Bayard Public Library. Several individuals showed up to experience water quality monitoring, to learn about the importance of water conservation, and of keeping trash out of the waterways to protect ecosystem health and the safety of our drinking water. The program stressed climate resilience through conserving water to reduce the amount of fossil fuels needed to pump groundwater and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the World Water Day event at Big Ditch Park had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, but several small groups of volunteers collected trash in Big Ditch Park and south of the Highway 90 overpass in honor of the day. Water conservation and education were also a part of the virtual Earth Day celebration organized by GRIP. In early November, a small group of volunteers in partnership with the Gila National Forest Service gathered to collect glass and shooting debris off Bear Mountain Road.
With the closures of our local schools, SCWK has designed environmental education materials to promote watershed stewardship in the community. Weather journals were created and distributed to local schools to encourage students to collect precipitation data while at home. Other environmental education activities have been promoted through social media and on the SCWK website. SCWK has continued to collect quarterly water quality monitoring data throughout the year in small groups of volunteers. The data will become part of a larger database to track surface water quality and groundwater in the state. In addition to the educational outreach in the community, SCWK is working to release the 2020 State of the Watershed Report featuring much of the work being done by community groups to protect and enhance the quality of our local watershed.
In late January, students from Guadalupe Montessori traveled on foot to downtown Silver City to speak with professionals about the impact of trash, in particular plastics, in our waterways as part of an Earth Force research project. The group of nine fourth and fifth grade students interviewed Allyson Siwik about the important work GRIP was doing, they met with county commissioner Alicia Edwards about county ordinances concerning trash in the local waterways, and visited mayor Ken Ladner where they discussed the Toss No Mas program. The students ended their day with water quality monitoring in San Vicente Creek. Students helped to collect data at Site 1 as part of SCWK’s first quarter monitoring of 2020.
In late February, SCWK partnered with Snell Middle School in a 2-day event to promote water education in the classroom and in the field. Professional conservation advocates spoke to students about water harvesting, geo-morphological and hydrological events that led to the formation of Big Ditch Park, the definition of a watershed, and how environmental water quality monitoring is conducted at the local mines. The following day, 80 middle school students traveled to Silver City for a direct experience in the watershed that included water quality monitoring, native plant identification, a museum display explaining the formation of the Big Ditch, and a presentation about Cut Your Waste Grant County, a program designed to change our consumption habits. There was an emphasis placed on the consumption of plastics and their negative impact on our waterways and ecosystem in general. Students participated in a short meditation designed to emphasize how we are connected to Earth and our environment.
World Water Day was celebrated early in March at the Bayard Public Library. Several individuals showed up to experience water quality monitoring, to learn about the importance of water conservation, and of keeping trash out of the waterways to protect ecosystem health and the safety of our drinking water. The program stressed climate resilience through conserving water to reduce the amount of fossil fuels needed to pump groundwater and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the World Water Day event at Big Ditch Park had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, but several small groups of volunteers collected trash in Big Ditch Park and south of the Highway 90 overpass in honor of the day. Water conservation and education were also a part of the virtual Earth Day celebration organized by GRIP. In early November, a small group of volunteers in partnership with the Gila National Forest Service gathered to collect glass and shooting debris off Bear Mountain Road.
With the closures of our local schools, SCWK has designed environmental education materials to promote watershed stewardship in the community. Weather journals were created and distributed to local schools to encourage students to collect precipitation data while at home. Other environmental education activities have been promoted through social media and on the SCWK website. SCWK has continued to collect quarterly water quality monitoring data throughout the year in small groups of volunteers. The data will become part of a larger database to track surface water quality and groundwater in the state. In addition to the educational outreach in the community, SCWK is working to release the 2020 State of the Watershed Report featuring much of the work being done by community groups to protect and enhance the quality of our local watershed.
Water and COVID-19
Wastewater testing can be used as an early detector of the communal spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Hearst Mill
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The old Hearst Mill site has become Silver City's newest green space.
Education
Since schools are closed through the end of the semester in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, Silver City Watershed Keepers would like to offer students and adults some options to learn about water quality and watershed health while practicing social distancing. Please click on the RESOURCES link below.
Virtual Earth Day Event
State of the Watershed Report
The Silver City Watershed Keepers prepares a biennial State of the Watershed Report that summarizes our community's efforts as watershed stewards. If you would like your organization to be included in the 2020 report, click the survey button below and fill out the prompts. Deadline for submission is December 31, 2020.
Check out the 2018 State of the Watershed Report.
2021 Events
Trash and Litter Cleanups
2020 Events
Bear Mountain Road Clean-up
In partnership with the Gila National Forest, the Silver City Watershed Keepers organized a trash cleanup in the upper watershed on November 7 from 9 am - noon. Volunteers met at the Jose Barrios Elementary School parking lot and drove to the site off Bear Mountain Road at forest road 858. Trash bags, gloves, and trash pickers were provided by the Gila National Forest Service. Social distancing was practiced and facemasks were mandatory.
The Gila National Forest had identified several areas off of Bear Mountain Road as degraded due to trash pollution and shooting debris. Silver City Watershed Keepers, in its continuous efforts to steward our local waterways, will continue to monitor the site for illegal dumping and general trash debris which are ongoing threats to the health of the watershed and the ecosystem.
The Gila National Forest had identified several areas off of Bear Mountain Road as degraded due to trash pollution and shooting debris. Silver City Watershed Keepers, in its continuous efforts to steward our local waterways, will continue to monitor the site for illegal dumping and general trash debris which are ongoing threats to the health of the watershed and the ecosystem.
Snell Middle School Field Trip
On February 27th, 80 students from Snell Middle School traveled to Big Ditch Park for a direct watershed experience at San Vicente Creek, the Silver City Museum and the Lotus Center. Students rotated through stations to learn about water quality monitoring, the formation of Big Ditch Park, native riparian plants in the watershed, and Cut Your Waste Grant County.
Guadalupe Montessori School
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Students from Guadalupe Montessori School ask questions about water pollution in Silva Creek as part of a Wildfriends Project.
