The Watershed Alliance first expanded to include a sister, southern branch in the fall of 2008. This was made possible through partnerships between UVM Extension, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, the Rubenstein School, Green Mountain College and the Poultney-Mettowee Natural Resource Conservation District (PMNRCD). At this time the program was known as the Green Mountain College Watershed Alliance. An AmeriCorps VISTA at Green Mountain College served as the Watershed Alliance Coordinator. The GMC WA Coordinator was trained by UVM Watershed Coordinator, Bethany Hanna, and utilized the fall of 2008 to prepare for the first season of programming in the spring of 2009.
Green Mountain College students could enroll in the WA to serve as Watershed Educators and receive one credit at the 3000 course level (upper level credit). In August 2010 the GMC WA moved to PMNRCD. PMNRCD has a history of conducting water quality monitoring and running environmental education programs and the WA program fit well with their mission.
In September of 2010 Marli Rupe, PMNRCD District Manager, hired Chuck Domenie as the Conservation District Watershed Educator. Along with running other education and outreach programs, one of the Watershed Educator's primary responsibilities is to coordinate the Southern Branch of the WA, now the Poultney Mettowee Conservation District Watershed Alliance.
Today, the program runs in much the same manner. The Watershed Educator recruits, trains, and supervises between three and six Green Mountain College students interested in environmental studies / sciences (i.e. majors include: Natural Resource Management, Environmental Studies, Environmental Education, Adventure Education, etc.). These students are trained utilizing the UVM WA Watershed Educator Handbook, and then must pass a competency exam before working independently with participating schools.
