Back To All News

Recent Immigrants Become Water Stewards

A group of English language learners study a mural at the Maplewood Mall.

Images and story courtesy Clean Water Minnesota.

Adult students learning English at Harmony Learning Center in Maplewood, Minn. are becoming water stewards as they learn idioms and conjugate verbs.

These dozen students, who come from countries known more for their tropical plants and deserts, say the concept of watersheds is new. “Before, we didn’t think about how clean water is, where it’s coming from, who takes care of it,” says Veronica, one of the new water stewards from Mexico.

Three women.
Learning English while becoming a water steward with the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District.

But a partnership between the school and the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District has been expanding students’ interests and enlivening their lessons.

This fall, they prepared for a field trip to the Kohlman Lake/Creek watershed in North St. Paul and Maplewood by poring over a list of vocabulary words: “restoration, sediment, erosion, cistern, phosphorous”—scarcely the stuff of beginning English.

The students carefully intone “pervious” and “impervious” as their teacher Liddy Rich explains the difference—part of their preparation for “following a trail of water” through the chain of lakes that flows into Lake Phalen in St. Paul.

Armed with clipboards, watershed maps, and scavenger hunt vocabulary lists, the students from Myanmar, Laos, Bangladesh, Iraq, Mexico, Somalia, and Cameroon head out to learn “how to stop water where it drops,” becoming water stewards as they gain fluency with the language, says watershed education specialist Sage Passi.

Read the full story at cleanwatermn.org.

Read the Story

 

Latest News

Environmental Specialist Eva Hanson closing the MWMO cistern for the winter

MWMO Newsletter — October 2024 — Winterizing the Watershed Edition 🍂❄️

In This Issue: Winterizing Your Rain Barrel, Youth in the Green Workforce, Staff Updates, Upcoming Events and More Read the Newsletter
October 31, 2024

GovDelivery

View More
Tree leaves turning yellow and orange on the Mississippi River

MWMO Newsletter – September 2024 – Fall Colors Coming Soon🍂

In This Issue: Fall Colors, Graco Park, Visiting ‘A River Connected’ Exhibit, Planning Grant, Staff Updates, Upcoming Events and More Read the Newsletter
September 30, 2024

GovDelivery

View More
MWMO monitoring team staff conducting water quality testing near the Stone Arch Bridge.

MWMO Newsletter – August 2024 – Fall is in the Air Edition 🍁🍂🍃

In This Issue: Fall Yard Care, Connie Fortin on Low-Salt Design, New Art Exhibit, Job Openings, Upcoming Events and More Read the Newsletter
August 30, 2024

GovDelivery

View More