We Are Water project receives Governor’s Award, CoCoRaHS a partner

We Are Water, an NSF-funded project focused on water issues in the Four Corners Region, received an 2023 Governor’s Award for High-Impact Research earlier in October. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (known as CoCoRaHS) is a partner on the project.

Water is an incredibly important, complicated topic in the Four Corners Region. We Are Water was started with the hope of providing community members with a place to discuss and understand the many water issues affecting this region.  Through a collaboration between CIRES Education & Outreach, Western Water Assessment, Indigenous education organizations, local libraries, and climate scientists, We Are Water created a traveling exhibit for rural libraries to host at their locations for two to three months at a time. The exhibit highlights different themes tying water with life, landscape, community – all shared through hands-on activities or games.

“It’s been one of the most professionally satisfying projects CoCoRaHS has been a part of,” Noah Newman, education and outreach coordinator for CoCoRaHS, said. Newman attended the awards ceremony at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on October 11. “I’ve learned so much about collaborating with different groups and the sharing of knowledge, but getting to interact and learn from the community members themselves has been the best part of it all.” 

Photo caption:  We Are Water team accepts their Governor’s Award; CoCoRaHS Education and Outreach Coordinator Noah Newman (fourth from right) attended. Photo by Stephanie Maltarich.