Empowering the Next Generation

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors Program helps high school students learn about water issues and careers

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• 4-H Water Ambassadors website

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High school can be a time of discovery for many teens as they figure out their interests and decide what career to pursue. However, students' choices can be limited when they aren’t aware of different career paths.

One Texas group is working to change that when it comes to students seeing career opportunities in water.

Since 2017, the Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors Program has supported 218 high school students as they get hands-on knowledge about water in Texas, connect with professionals in the field and use that knowledge to educate others. 

New challenges, new solutions

The concept started with Dirk Aaron, a former Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent now serving as general manager for Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District. David Smith leads the program and has been involved since the beginning.

“Within 4-H, there are different programs for high school youth that are aimed at career exploration, leadership and service; there’s probably seven or eight other similar types of ambassador programs,” said Smith, an extension program specialist in the Texas A&M University Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. “In 2016, Dirk talked to the state 4-H program director at the time about the idea of starting a Water Ambassadors Program.”

Aaron felt that the water industry would support the program and help provide opportunities and sponsors. He sees it as “planting a seed” to grow the next generation of water leaders, Smith said.

That’s where Smith got involved; he had recently started youth water education and was contacted by Aaron to lead the program.

“He said, ‘Hey, we have this idea. Would you be willing to take it on and build it?’” Smith recalls.

After agreeing to lead the program, Smith and Aaron met with the Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation and groups of water industry professionals, attorneys, hydrologists and organizations, and pitched the program to them. “All of them bought into it,” Smith said.

There is a big need for youth interest in the water industry, he said, because many professionals are nearing retirement. Finding driven students interested in the water field can be challenging, Smith said. That’s where the Water Ambassadors Program comes in.

“Water folks are interested in developing the next generation of water decision makers, leaders, and people in the industry,” he said.2017 saw the first group of ambassadors begin their journey. Now in their eighth year of existence, their mission stays the same.

“Our purpose is to get high school youth who are considering what they are going to do, if they’re going to college or not, with their future or career and show them what a career in water looks like,” Smith said.

Finding a place to belong

Each spring, the program accepts applications for admittance. Promoted through Texas 4-H and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agents, any interested youth from across Texas who will be in high school the next academic year are eligible to apply.

“I’ve enjoyed natural resources my entire life and was looking for something more engaging to do in that area,” said J.D. Haines, a water ambassador in Montgomery County. “I have really enjoyed learning about water; it’s very hands-on and interesting for me.”

Students are able to apply any year they are in high school and commit to being in the program for an entire year.

“It’s year-long, continued education,” Smith said. “And in exchange for that, they’re required to commit to a minimum of 40 hours of education and service in their communities.”

For some students like Riley Calk from Denver City, who joined the program in its second year of existence, this education was personal. Calk said she learned more about water issues her family faces as the fifth generation on their ranches in Uvalde and Brewster counties, within the Edwards Aquifer region.

Neighboring ranchland-owners are facing economic pressure to sell their water rights to municipalities, Calk mentioned, and she learned more about that in the 4-H Water Ambassador Program.

“That really brought up my interest in natural resources and water when I was in high school, so I joined the Water Ambassador Program and it was awesome,” Calk said. “The first year of the program is really focused on groundwater and then throughout the next years and rivers and water reuse, it really opened my eyes to so much, and you realize that no more water is being made, so you need to conserve as much as you can when reasonable.”

(Top) Texas 4-H Water Ambassador J.D. Haines completing his monthly Stream Team monitoring on Greens Bayou in Houston. 

(Bottom) 4-H Water Ambassador Ocean Landreneau helped with the Gulf Coast 4-H Angler Day for kids at Sea Center Texas, assisting with hatchery tour, aquarium scavenger hunt, angler education, and fish habitat education. All photos courtesy of Texas 4-H Water Ambassadors.

The program's required education and service hours can be fulfilled by: presenting to 4-H clubs, educating students at local schools and volunteering with other educators like water educators and groundwater conservation district education coordinators. Students report their work to Smith to keep track of service opportunities completed.

Another part of the program is the 4-H2O Leadership Academy. These summer programs help further educate students about how water is managed in different parts of the state and introduce them to the people doing that work. The level, or year, of the program a student is in decides which academy trip they attend in the summer.

(Left to right) Lilly Haddox, 4-H water ambassador, presenting an “Edible Aquifer” activity and explaining aquifer science to the Waller County Brazos Valley Project Club. 4-H water ambassador Jack Luckey leading water and aquifer education activities at the Milam County 4-H FriYAY Summer Day Camp. Students in the 4-H water ambassadors Tier II Academy learning about bay seining, water testing and oysters with the Galveston Bay Foundation. Ambassador Sarah Wood assisting the Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District in teaching local homeschool groups about watersheds and groundwater.

  

“The first-year group starts generally somewhere in the center of the state, and we end up in the Panhandle and then come back around over seven days,” Smith said. “They learn a lot about aquifers, agricultural irrigation, water wells, and water law and policy, especially since that area of the state is groundwater focused.”

Level two students focus on the coastal area of Texas, while level three travels to the Rio Grande Valley and level four, the final one for students who were in the program for all four years, heads out to Southwest Texas.

With Texas being such a large state, these trips help bring together students from across the state and meet face to face. Ambassadors also come together during the school year for retreats and to lead educational camps for younger students.

“Water ambassadors are charged with leading the spring Lone Star 4-H Splash Camp, which is a camp that they lead over the course of a weekend,” Smith said. “They’re teaching younger students what they’ve learned and leading activities.”

Along with helping others learn about water, Smith helps his students continue learning through monthly assignments and Zoom seminars to stay in touch with each other and hear from water industry professionals.

The program's leaders are regularly invited to exhibit at water industry conferences throughout the state to promote their work.

“That’s an opportunity for me to invite the students in that region, or those who want to make the trip, to come and man the booth, promote the program and look for sponsors to support the program,” he said. “There’s a lot of face-to-face time that our students have with people in the water industry.”

Ambassadors also assist county extension agents and groundwater conservation districts with running educational events.

“I think it’s good that the students get to interact with other educators and see how they’re teaching and all the different types of activities and educational models and things like that that they could use,” Smith said.

These events help ambassadors build their skills in speaking and educating.

(Left to right) Olivia and Abigail Clifton, 4-H water ambassadors, demonstrating the Texas A&M AgriLife Stream Trailer at Hallsville Elementary, teaching about streams and rivers, the water cycle, runoff and pollution. Kyson Bunch and Randal Coffman assisting Michelle Cooper of the Southern Ogallala Conservation and Outreach Program at a public event. J.D. Haines and Clay Workman at the Brazos County Water Field Day, where they led the Pipe Game Activity, showing how water towers work and the importance of pipes in transporting water to homes. Tier II 4-H2O Leadership Academy learning about water treatment. Roxy Islas, 4-H water ambassador, leading the "How much water is in your pizza?" activity for students at an educational event in Abilene.

  

“Before this, I was not so much of a public speaker, but through this, I’ve grown much more confident speaking to others and educating them,” Haines said. “I’ve started to really enjoy, especially with the younger groups, educating them and teaching them.”

As the program has grown, Smith said, more invitations to attend events and scholarship opportunities from the water industry have become available for ambassadors.

“As the sponsorships have grown each year, we get more visibility, and we’re asked to participate in more programs,” he said.

The goal of all these opportunities, Smith explained, is to encourage the students to get involved in their community and connect them with local water professionals. Those connections lead to having a local mentor and possible internships.

Making connections does not end with high school graduation for some students. The two student workers who currently assist Smith are former water ambassadors, along with many of his former student workers like Calk.

“I enjoyed the program so much that when I decided to go to Texas A&M and major in ag systems management, I continued to work for the program for my four years there,” Calk said. “That was really fun to be able to continue that and learn more over the years.”

Justin Hill, current student worker, said that the program helped him decide his major.

“I wanted to do plant soil science, but then Mr. David had a recruiter of the ag systems management major come and talk to us about it, and that changed my major; I even changed my college for that,” Hill said.

These former students being a part of the planning helps Smith ensure that the program stays relevant and interesting for ambassadors.

“They’re a lot of help because they’ve been through the experience,” he said. “They help
me better connect with what the kids are looking for and what will resonate with them, especially when it comes to planning our retreats and activities.”

(Left to right) Tier I 4-H water ambassadors learn about playa lakes at the Ogallala Commons Outdoor Classroom in Nazareth. Ambassador Layla Howton leading water education presentations at a San Jacinto County Ag in the Classroom event. Ambassador Ocean Landreneau with water samples from her monthly water testing at Bastrop Bayou. Tier I 4-H2O Academy water ambassadors touring the San Marcos River with the San Marcos River Foundation to learn about riparian protection. 4-H water ambassador Isaiah Atoe working with his local inland fisheries office to sample a lake using electro fishing and dip nets, netting and measuring all species caught.

  

Looking to the future

“As former ambassadors find their way into the workforce, Smith is interested to see what paths they decide to follow, water related or not.

“We’re in our eighth year, so we’re starting to see the first group graduating college and we’re trying to see, where did they go? What program did they join? What impact did the program have on their choice of careers?” he said.

Calk is one student who found her way into the world of agriculture and uses the knowledge she learned through all her years involved with the program to connect with farmers as a program analyst for the United States Department of Agriculture Farm
Service Agency.

“Getting a broad overview of water and agriculture in Texas helped me in my next journey,” she said. “I get to see farmers every day who are utilizing conservation practices because that is their livelihood. So, it’s really fun to get to see everything I’ve learned throughout the program be applied practically.”

While not every student may want to join the water field, Smith enjoys the chance to show them the different opportunities.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s pretty rewarding because kids at that age are impressionable and most of them don’t know anything about the water industry and what they do,” he said. “It’s fun to see them broaden their perspectives and be made aware of the opportunities and things they could do after college.”

As the program continues to help educate students from across the state, Smith remembers those who helped elevate the program to the success it is today.

“It’s the water industry support that allows the program to happen,” Smith said. “Without their support, the program wouldn’t be possible. It’s not just the funding they provide. They host us during the summer academies, mentor our students throughout the year, provide opportunities to get visibility out there, and get students involved in their education programs and more.”

When thinking of the future of both the program and youth water education in the state, Smith hopes that people will understand the importance of programs like this and the potential youth programs hold for the betterment of everyone.

“Our youth are getting more disconnected from the origins of where their water is coming from,” Smith said. “That’s why people should care. Because they need the people who are making decisions and laws governing how our water is used to be educated about water.”