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Adoption is almost synonymous with magnanimity. Taking in a child and raising it as your own is oft heralded as a selfless and noble act. Children aren't the only thing that you can adopt. You can adopt and highways. And now, you can adopt a watershed.
Sure, a watershed isn't as cute and cuddly as a kid. And a watershed will never make you macaroni art that frames the words I LOVE YOU. But the local watershed is kind of yours already. Plus, if you have kids, both adopted and not, they'll need plenty of fresh, clean water to drink, and those kids will make the macaroni art with the water that fuels their bodies.
Adopting a watershed can mean many things. You can work with a group to raise public awareness of your watershed. You can get the word out to people about the dangers of pouring harmful chemicals down the drain and show them ways to prevent runoff.
If you're the strong silent type who shies away from crowds, you can work to become a volunteer water monitor. You'll be able to find polluted areas, report them and aid with clean ups.
Speaking of clean ups, you may not have the time to check on the watershed every day or travel to schools to teach about the importance of the watershed, but you may be able to participate in those clean ups. Get you some galoshes.
You can adopt a watershed, but, really, the watershed is already yours. Any level of involvement in keeping your local watershed clean and fresh is truly a noble thing.
Learn more at Epa.gov/adopt.
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