Graduate students invited to speak at Master Watershed Steward Program

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Graduate students Juliana Araujo and David Hogan were invited to lecture in the Master Watershed Steward Program at the Yavapai County Cooperative Extension office in Prescott, AZ. They presented to an audience of trained volunteers who are interested in gaining the knowledge and experience necessary to monitor and protect the watersheds in and around their communities.

The students lectured on complementary topics. Araijo, a PhD student in the laboratory of UA SRP investigator Dr. Mark Brusseau, taught the water cycle and described the transport of contaminants through soil and water systems. Hogan gave a broad overview of biodegradation, from methods to contaminant fate, and provided examples of applied biodegradation, such as cleaning up oil spills and the recent molasses spill in Hawaii. He also described his PhD research with UA SRP Director Dr. Raina Maier on the microbially-produced surfactant Rhamnolipid, which is used to treat contamination in waste water.

Master Watershed Stewards are highly-trained volunteers working closely with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Says Hogan, “This presentation was especially fun because the audience was not only motivated to learn the information, but also highly engaged and interactive. It is vital to develop programs like the Master Watershed Stewards Program so that we can take knowledge developed at universities and extend it to a broader audience, especially to individuals like those in the stewards program, who are motivated to become informed and active participants in environmental monitoring and improvement.”