Community Partnership Tools
Public Presentations and Workshops
When we present to the public our role as the City's primary advocates for healthy waterways, our intention is to raise awareness about how people can make simple changes to their daily routine to improve the health of their watershed.
Clean-ups
The Office of Watersheds partners with local organizations to help improve the aesthetic quality of rivers and streams so that they can be viewed and treasured as resources. Clean-ups are a way to achieve this while also involving residents and volunteers in the process.
Gathering of Public Input
Our objective in reaching out to communities is to evoke a sense of ownership and community identity.
Community Input Form
The Community Input Form is one way communities can let us know about sites they think might be good for green infrastructure. PWD reviews Community Input Form submissions for technical feasibility and then prioritizes projects that meet stormwater management goals.
Surveys
Surveys are a successful tool in gathering information from both small groups and larger populations. They provide an approachable and confidential means of communicating ideas, comments, and concerns.
Key Person Interviews
When we're looking for more substantial input from diverse sources, we often engage in a documented dialogue with multiple individuals in the community.
Check out the Facebook page for our Green City, Clean Waters plan.
Education Facilities
A sense of personal responsibility emerges when people understand the connections between the human activities of daily life and the health of the City's natural environment and waterways. The Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center is a public amenity that helps accomplish this through interactive exhibits, displays, and events for citizens of all ages.
Educational Materials
Our message is only as strong as we market it to be, so a major component of our educational outreach efforts is the way we communicate with stakeholders.
Printed materials such as brochures and pamphlets are a way to summarize information into a neat package intended for distribution at events, presentations, community meetings, and other similar occasions. Newsletters, whether distributed electronically or via the postal service, are an excellent way to periodically update stakeholders on the foremost information related to their community.
Additional tools include educational signage posted adjacent to local projects to enlighten passersby, and websites that convey our message, promote community involvement, and reflect the complexity of our ever-evolving practices.