A little bit of this, A little bit of that….

…is what we’ve been working on over here in the Environmental Services Division.  I just wanted to update everyone on what’s been going on so far this year.  Stormwater utility bills were mailed the last week of January, along with the stormwater newsletter (available here).  We had a booth at the Senior Connections/Mariner Mall Health Fair and talked to a lot of people there.  We enjoyed meeting everyone who attended, as well as those staffing the other booths.  We’ll be keeping you posted on events we attend….in March, we have the Housing Expo at Mariner Mall on the 9^th.

Hopefully you’ve heard of the Environmental Matters Webinar Series which kicks off tomorrow with our first webinar presented by Wendy on winter salt (register here).  She’ll be covering salt application, types of salt, and the problems with salt use on the roads.  It’s interesting information that is useful to all of us, especially after all the snow we got yesterday!  We’ll have another webinar on the 28^th, and then two more every month throughout 2013.  All Superior residents who watch the webinars live will have a chance to win a rain barrel in June!  If you can’t watch them live, they will be archived on our website.  Check out the Superior Telegram's article about them here.

Another fun thing that we’re doing right now is working with schools and other groups to set up presentations about stormwater, water pollution, and the water cycle with kids.  We met some smart kids who knew a lot about water at the Boys and Girls Club and had fun doing activities with them.  In March, we’re holding a Water Fair for the fifth graders at two local elementary schools.  We’re also organizing an art contest for fifth and sixth grade students that will conclude just in time for Earth Day in April.

Finally, we’re in the midst of planning a Rain Barrel and Composter Sale with UW Superior.  In the past, the City has made rain barrels available for residents in a pre-order sale.  We’re working on bringing that back this year, and we couldn’t be more excited.  We’ll have more information at our upcoming booths and eventually, on this blog and the website. 

If you have a question or would like a presentation on stormwater or a related topic for a group in Superior, please contact us.  We’d love to work with you!

-Written by Jillian Schubert Edwards