A look back at 10-years of the North Central Regional Water Network
While it occurred with very little fanfare, last year marked the 10-year anniversary of the North Central Region Water Network. A lot has changed over the last ten years, but a lot remains the same as well. One thing that hasn’t changed – the power of people and network building in bringing about lasting change.
People are the ultimate driver of change when it comes to achieving safe and sustainable water quality across the North Central Region. It is the skills, decisions, and networks of people that determine whether land management decisions collectively move the needle in reducing nutrient loads, harmful algal blooms, or the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. And at the Network, we take connecting people and learning from one another seriously.
Those who know the Network well, will be familiar with The Current Webinar Series, our speed networking webinar series for professionals engaged in water-related extension, research, and outreach activities. Over the last 10 years we have hosted over 100 webinars featuring 250 presenters who shared their research and programs on wide range of topics – from riparian management and nitrate leaching to Indigenous perspectives on water and PFAS. In the last several years, webinars and other virtual learning opportunities have grown in popularity and the Network now collaborates to host routine webinars on soil health, climate, and harmful algal blooms in addition to The Current monthly webinar series.
We have hosted six different in-person multi-state water-related conferences providing key opportunities for Extension staff, state and federal agency personnel, tribal representatives, and ag organizations to build lasting relationships with one another. Whether we were in Indianapolis in 2018 for the One Water Action Forum, or Duluth in 2022 for the Climate Intersections Conference, we consistently heard the need for water professionals across sectors to learn about the work of their peers and brainstorm ideas to work collaboratively to maximizing our impact, and widen their network.
By combining our individual institutions expertise with the power of networks, we leveraged our ability to help individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities adapt to complexity and change. We have funded 39 multi-state teams since our inception building key capacity for Extension professionals and creating crucial programming on issues such as stormwater management, soil health, manure management, reducing nitrate, planning for drought, and more. Many of these groups continue to work together and collaborate on projects to improve our work as extension water professionals.
The Network and partners have also worked collaboratively to publish a number of whitepapers and reports for water professionals to use in their work – from a comprehensive booklet on the financial implications of conservation agriculture and a whitepaper on the connection between soil health and water quality, to a needs assessment on facilitating farmer leadership in watershed management projects just to name a few.
While these accomplishments are broad in their focus and goal, they each came about from the dedicated work of small groups of land-grant university staff working collaboratively across institutions to improve their work and build the capacity of their fellow extension professionals. To each of you going above and beyond in your work to ensure safe and sufficient water supplies – on behalf of the Network, thank you for your efforts. It is your dedication and tireless effort that is making a difference and shepherding multi-state water work forward for the next 10-years and beyond.