The Stream Team is the community engagement arm of Rethink Runoff, offering volunteer opportunities, educational workshops, and engaging events in the towns it serves.
Get tips and updates about upcoming events!
Each seasonal issue is packed with things to you do to help keep Lake Champlain clean, and we’ll never share your information.
Volunteer Opportunities
Stream Monitoring
Stream monitoring is an important component of stormwater management. Each year, volunteers are needed to take water samples from various local streams. These samples are sent to a lab and analyzed.
Join our team of citizen-science volunteers who collect water samples from streams on a bi-weekly basis throughout the summer. These samples are vital in helping to monitor trends in levels of phosphorus, chloride, and turbidity in our waterways.
Stream Clean-up
You can do your part to keep our rivers healthy by helping out during a scheduled river cleanup.
According to American Rivers, “millions of tons of trash end up in our nation’s rivers and streams every year from litter on the ground and illegal dump sites.” This trash poses serious health risks to humans and wildlife. It’s also an eyesore to anyone hoping to enjoy the scenic beauty of Vermont’s landscape.
The Stream Team hosts river cleanups as a way of ensuring that our rivers and streams stay healthy and clean. In the spring, summer, or fall, the Stream Team chooses priority areas throughout Chittenden County and utilizes volunteers to pick up trash and other debris. Most people are amazed at how much trash is collected. At our cleanup of Sunderland Brook in 2011, volunteers pulled out over 1.16 tons of trash.
If you are interested in hearing about volunteer opportunities to clean streams, be sure to sign up for volunteer updates by emailing [email protected].
You can also frequent our home page or Facebook page for announcements.
Adopt-a-Rain Garden
Community rain gardens are landscaped municipal areas designed to retain and treat stormwater. They are one of the many ways that individuals, businesses, and municipalities can directly mitigate stormwater.
The Adopt-a-Rain Garden Program is designed to keep publicly-owned rain gardens functional and attractive throughout the Lake Champlain watershed in Chittenden County. It is an opportunity for individuals to assist in keeping public rain gardens clean and attractive by performing basic maintenance activities, including picking up litter, pulling weeds, and installing new mulch.
Who can participate?
The program is open to individuals, neighborhood associations, civic groups, religious organizations, service organizations, schools (school groups and teams), businesses, and other community organizations.
What is the time commitment?
We ask that you commit to adopting a rain garden for at least two years. The adoption commitment begins in April and concludes at the end of November.
What are the benefits?
- You can improve the beauty and value of Chittenden County’s neighborhoods.
- It’s a great opportunity for you to get outside during nice weather and have fun gardening.
- Properly maintained rain gardens improve our water quality, mitigate stormwater, and reduce flood risks.
Interested in learning more?
Workshops & Events
Throughout the year, we offer a variety of workshops on topics such as green lawn care or how to build a rain barrel. We often organize storm drain mural painting contests, bringing together art and clean water messages. We are also available to present to school groups.
Follow us on Facebook to learn more about our events around Chittenden County.
Book a Speaker
Do you have a classroom or community organization that is interested in learning about water quality? Book a guest speaker from the Stream Team!
We are happy to present to groups of any age with interactive programs ranging from “Build a Watershed” for younger learners to “Change Your Stormwater Footprint” for adults. Read on to learn more about our offerings. Presentations are offered free of charge to any school or community organization based in our 9-municipality service area.
About The Stream Team
The Stream Team is the outreach arm of Rethink Runoff, managed by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and run by the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District.
Special focus is placed on impaired streams in the eight municipalities that are subject to the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS-4) permit under Phase 2 of the Federal Clean Water Act. The impaired streams are Allen Brook, Bartlett Brook, Centennial Brook, Englesby Brook, Indian Brook, Morehouse Brook, Munroe Brook, Potash Brook and Wheeler Nature Park.
