From early 2023 to summer 2025, the Arboretum facilitated the second phase of the WATER Project (Water Action to Encourage Responsibility), also known as the Tu Agua Project. The project was supported by a Wisconsin Idea Collaboration Grant, and staff from Wisconsin EcoLatinos and UW–Madison Division of Extension’s Water Action Volunteers program joined members of the Arboretum education unit to form the core project team.

Over the past two years, the core team supported multiple public events and community projects across Dane County to engage people in water science and address causes and impacts of stormwater pollution. The scope and variety of community projects illustrate the ways that local actions collectively address big issues like stormwater pollution through art, education, experiences in nature, and on-the-ground “infrastructure” projects. Here’s an overview of the five community projects supported by Tu Agua Project mini-grants.

A local artist, Paula Agudelo, worked with Wisconsin EcoLatinos and community groups such as LaFollette High School’s Latino Club and Natural Sciences Program to co-design and paint a mural to raise awareness about water pollution and water quality impacts.

The Aldo Leopold Nature Center developed a water quality education curriculum that pairs water stewardship and monitoring at their site with a global perspective on water stewardship using their Science on a Sphere. Thirty students in their afterschool OAKS program (Outdoor Action Kids in STEAM) engaged with the curriculum and then became the teachers, sharing what they learned with their families at a family night for their program.

As part of the stormwater management goals included in the Bayview community’s ongoing site redevelopment, Bayview Foundation used project funds to improve stormwater infiltration around the community basketball courts by contracting with Good Oak Ecological Services to install native plants around the perimeter of the court. This native planting is one of several on site that will provide opportunities for Bayview’s 600+ residents to engage directly with the site’s sustainability and stormwater management efforts.

The Catholic Multicultural Center hosted two community field trips related to water and land stewardship. The field trips created safe, welcoming spaces for people to explore and appreciate nature together when they might not otherwise be able to on their own. Over fifty people attended the field trips, which were led in part by volunteers from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, UW–Madison, and Good Oak Ecological Services. The Catholic Multicultural Center also used project funds to conduct a prescribed burn of their eleven-year-old rain garden. This management will help ensure the rain garden continues to effectively mitigate stormwater on site.

Friends of Owen Conservation Park has two demonstration rain gardens on site – one with native plants and one with turfgrass. The rain gardens were installed in 2004 and restored in 2022. With support from this project, the Friends developed an interpretive sign to share research done on the rain gardens and their ongoing development. The Friends also hosted three outreach events for over 100 participants.

Collectively, the five community projects directly engaged over 300 people in hands-on opportunities to learn about water quality and stormwater, and their work will continue to impact the thousands of people who live at or visit the sites. The Tu Agua Project team also engaged over 250 people at twelve bilingual events, ranging from listening sessions, to family-friendly “Science Behind Tu Agua” workshops, to Water Action Volunteers stream monitoring trainings. The Tu Agua Project also fostered collaboration among organizations around the topics of stormwater and water quality. Here at the Arboretum, we’re excited to keep these connections going to continue supporting individual and community action to address stormwater challenges.

– Anne Pearce, education program manager