Volunteer of the Year 2015

We're proud to announce that Craig Page is our 2015 Volunteer of the Year!

Craig is one of our many dedicated volunteers, sampling Kays Creek monthly.  This year, on top of monitoring through the cold winter, Craig produced a helpful handout for volunteers counting their cultured E. coli colonies and also shares his UWW experiences with his grandchildren. We honor Craig for his above and beyond performance as a volunteer.  

 Why did you decide to volunteer with UWW?

 

I was raised on a small farm in West Point. My grandfather taught me the importance of not just the crops, but all that it takes to be successful. He taught me the intricate, complicated and critical interaction of the whole environment to being successful.

He took the time to show me the weather, water, birds, animals(both human and otherwise), bugs, the weather and the interactions that came together to get a successful crop. He also instilled in me that the effects on the environment are long-term and what we do today, impacts what happens later—maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.

I have become more interested in water since I am a scuba diver and have been in the water all over the world. I’ve seen how bad water and environment can kill reefs and destroy fish, too. It reminds me just how important water is to us all—in my mind it’s only second to air.

So, being involved in water as part of the environment is natural to me.

What have you learned about Kays Creek since you started volunteering?

I have learned that during the summer, the interaction of people, birds, and the Kays Creek degrade the quality of the water—much of which isn’t visible. Eventually, this flows into the Great Salt Lake and affects it too.

I’ve learned how storms and human development (road and home construction), too close to the stream-edge degrades the water quality, particularly in clarity and color of the water. It takes time for the damage to disappear from the water.

Constantly, I’m reminded that we damage everything with carelessness. There is a constant addition of garbage and discarded materials along the waterway. Not only does it destroy the natural beauty, but some ends up in the water clogging and polluting it.

Why do you enjoy most about volunteering with UWW?

Most of all, I enjoy the beauty of getting into nature for a time. To leave other world cares and revel in just being part of natural environment.

I enjoy working with UWW, because I know how important the quality of water is to all of us and I am contributing to the knowledge of this, small stream. When we collect garbage during our visit, we are improving the appearance of the area and undoing some of the damage.

You sometimes bring your grandchildren out to the site with you, what do you hope they learn from monitoring with you?

I hope they learn to recognize the beauty of the water and the birds.

We also improve the look by taking garbage out of it and reclaiming its beauty.

Finally, I want them to recognize the effects we can have both for good and bad anywhere we go. I impress them to leave no evidence of having been there so others can see what.

Kays Creek Data

Craig has been monitoring Kays Creek since 2013!  Here is a graph of monthly data he has collected from 2015 - present.  Notice the temperature spike in the summer months, but how the dissolved oxygen have remained relatively consistant.  Check out our data interpretation page to learn more about understanding water quality.