Stormwater Outreach Methods / Assistance Provided By URI / Stormwater Outreach Topics /
General Awareness / Yard Care / Pet Waste / Storm Drain Marking / Business / Kids and Teachers /
Print Media
**Publicize key messages in local papers through the use of ads or op-ed pieces / sample articles, factsheets, and cartoons that can be modified / X / X / X / X / X / X
Incorporate stormwater information into existing recycling education efforts, especially if publications exist / sample fact sheets, articles, bill inserts, and cartoons that can be modified / X / X / X / X
Direct mail to residents, using cartoons and It’s That Time of Year Series (provide in other languages, if necessary); possibly timed with notices about other programs or incorporated into existing mailings / sample mailings that can be modified ; suggestions for how to reduce direct mail costs / X / X / X
**Contact all local vets and animal shelters and ask to place the Do You Scoop The Poop fact sheet and/or the Bousquet cartoon in their offices; ask to use the cartoon as the reminder postcard, where applicable / sample pet waste fact sheet and Bousquet cartoon about pet waste; list of all vets and animal shelters by town / X / X
**Customize a provided letter to local businesses and send with the self-inspection stormwater checklist and information about In Business For The Blackstone type programs. Supports IDDE compliance. / sample letter and checklist; information about the In Business For The Blackstone program / X / X
Stormwater Outreach Methods / Assistance Provided By URI / Stormwater Outreach Topics
General Awareness / Yard Care / Pet Waste / Storm Drain Marking / Business / Kids and Teachers
Radio, Television, and Internet
**Add stormwater educational information to the Town’s website / sample website content that can be modified / X / X / X / X / X
Air radio ads / existing radio ads; we can contact an audio/video resource at URI about editing or creating / X / X / X / X / X
Air a static screen display for a local Cox cable channel or within a Town Hall Lobby, where applicable, using elements from our 2008 statewide campaign / existing advertising media that could be customized / X / X / X / X / X
Displays, Events, and Projects
Incorporate storm drain info through Kid’s Watershed Model display at a school, library program, or at Town-sponsored events. Partner with watershed groups /others.
Goal: educate all 4th or 5th graders annually / A watershed model is available for loan from our office. To schedule its use, contact Vanessa Venturini at 874-7142. / X / X / X
Conduct storm drain marking program, in conjunction with local schools, using stencils or markers (in any major languages)[1] / contacts with Save The Bay and Surfrider, who help with marking; can help with a custom marker / X / X / X
Stormwater Outreach Methods / Assistance Provided By URI / Stormwater Outreach Topics
General Awareness / Yard Care / Pet Waste / Storm Drain Marking / Business / Kids and Teachers
Displays, Events, and Projects (continued)
**Hold a Yard Care Workshop at the local library or at a regularly-scheduled meeting of a local group
Note: Guaranteed attendance of 20-25 would be required for scheduling / Contact Vanessa Venturini at 874-7142 to schedule a Master Gardener to speak; sample flyers for advertising / X / X
Sponsor a How-To-Compost Day / Contact Sejal Harde at 874-4453 to schedule a Master Composter. / X / X
Hold a Compost Bin and/or Rain Barrel Sale / Contact Sejal Harde at 874-4453 to discuss. / X / X
Create a demonstration rain garden, perhaps at a local school / Contact Marion Gold at 874-5705 to discuss possibilities. / X / X / X
**“Scary Dad” display (with take-home factsheet) at local schools, YMCA, libraries, youth organizations, or at Town-sponsored events; should be conducted in the context of broader storm water education / A life-sized cut-out display is available for loan from our office. To schedule its use, contact Vanessa Venturini at 874-7142. / X / X
Have a Town-sponsored booth at a Town Fair, if applicable, providing stormwater information / X / X / X
Stormwater Outreach Methods / Assistance Provided By URI / Stormwater Outreach Topics
General Awareness / Yard Care / Pet Waste / Storm Drain Marking / Business / Kids and Teachers
Displays, Events, and Projects (continued)
Signage at water bodies where people feed waterfowl / X / X
Creation of a Town dog park or installation of pet waste stations at areas where dogs are frequently walked, including at beaches / X / X
Offer to meet with businesses or civic groups to discuss the IDDE ordinance, its impacts on local businesses, and programs such as In Business For The Blackstone. / sample PowerPoint presentation about an IDDE ordinance / X / X
Consider adopting a business program within your town, as done with the In Business for the Blackstone Program / X

**These methods are highlighted due to their low cost and ease of implementation. Page 1 of 4

[1] Note that the true value of storm drain marking lies in the education associated with the marking itself, not the deterring power of the labels on the drain. Therefore, we always suggest involving students or other residents, rather than simply having Department of Public Works employees do the marking.