Coffee on the Project

Coffee on the Project

2006 Coffee on the Projects suspended.

Coffee on the Project was an annual RCRCA event designed to promote water quality awareness in both the Redwood and Cottonwood River Watersheds.

Over the years, the staff of RCRCA traveled to local coffee shops during the morning breakfast hours to visit with local watershed residents about their concerns and questions regarding the health of the rivers and what RCRCA can do to help.

As a thank you and a reminder to keep our area rivers clean, RCRCA offered free coffee in either a Redwood or Cottonwood River Watershed ceramic coffee cup along with rolls and donuts to those residents who attended!

RCRCA stakeholders have suggested that the Coffee on the Projects program has served it's purpose. RCRCA staff have visited many of the cafes in the watersheds. We have had the opportunity to visit with many watershed residents and got to know some of the cafe regulars during our annual stops, but the feeling was that we were no longer reaching new residents.

RCRCA staff are currently in the process of developing alternative outreach programs. We are continuing the photo contest to encourage family recreation within the watershed, as the contest is an activity that anyone and everyone can participate in regardless of age. We are also looking to assemble a watershed tour of public lands. These will include State, county and local parks with water features. It will also include Scenic and Natural Areas (SNAs) and Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) that have water features. Water features include rivers, tributaries, wetlands and lakes that are part of the Redwood and Cottonwood River Watersheds. The purpose of this tour has multiple layers. First, it is intended to show participants some of the public lands that may have never stopped at or knew about. Because we provide the transportation, we encourage all to come out and enjoy this tour, especially if you have trouble getting out and about. It provides a great opportunity for family outings as the busses can hold large groups of people, and no one has to drive! Some of the sites are being selected from the Minnesota River Valley Birding Trail Guide, put out by the Audubon Minnesota group and Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter, in order to offer bird viewing opportunities for those interested. You can bring your camera to take photos to enter into the RCRCA photo contest. Visit the RCRCA website for future updates regarding the tour or call the RCRCA offices for more information.

RCRCA has received national and state recognition of this event and its efforts promoting water quality! Check out the article written in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Non-point Source News-Notes article: "Trading Coffee for Water Quality Improvements."

Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources
"Local Water Planning Newsletter."

Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA)
1241 East Bridge Street
Redwood Falls, MN 56283
Phone: 507-637-2142, ext. 4
Fax: 507-637-2134
E-mail: rcrca2day@yahoo. com