Class One: Where your water comes from Note: These PowerPoints have been modified from the CA originals to address the unique conditions of the Intermountain west and in particular Northern Utah. Changes were approved by the QWEL Board of Directors. Ruth Bell, Editor, 2011. Introductions to speaker:

QWEL One of two EPA WaterSense Irrigation Auditor certification programs Originally developed by the California Landscape Contractors Association, Sonoma County Water Agency, City of Santa Rosa, Marin Municipal Water District, Santa Rosa College, and Marin College

Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper Utah Certification Program

Utah QWEL Partners UNLA JVWCD Diane Jones Kurt Young JVWCD Cynthia Bee Courtney Brown Shaun Moser Central Iron County Water Conservancy District USU Extension Candace Schaible Kelly Kopp Larry Rupp

Instructors Local water agencies USU Extension Industry

Course Locations and Format Primary venue has been the JVWCD Conservation Garden Park Washington County Water Conservancy District Iron County Format Day one: Lectures and audit Day two: Lectures, irrigation technology Day three: Exam QWEL

Utah Curriculum Must cover curriculum developed and approved by the Santa Rosa Utilities Department and accepted by EPA WaterSense Curriculum was modified for Utah by Ruth Bell and reviewed by USU Extension, Utah Division of Water Resources, and Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District All instruction under the direction of Utah State University Extension QWEL

Day 1 Topic 8:00-9:30 Class 1: Where your water comes from 9:30-11:00 Class 2: Irrigation systems 11:00-12:30 Class 3: Efficient irrigation basics 12:30-1:00 Lunch 1:00-2:30 Class 4: Soils 2:30-4:00 Class 5: Plants 4:00-5:30 Class 6: Water management Day 2 Topic 8:00-9:30 Class 7: Determining water budgets 9:30-11:00 Class 8: Irrigation scheduling 11:00-12:30 Class 9: Irrigation controllers 12:30-1:00 Lunch 1:00-2:30 Class 10: Valve, controller, & field wire troubleshooting 2:30-4:00 Class 11: New Technology 4:00-5:30 Class 12: Putting it all together. Review. Day 3 Topic 9:00 Certification test

What Has Worked 2 ½ day format Bringing in industry professionals to talk about irrigation technology Best part is the interaction among students Water audit is a valuable component

General Issues Variability in student backgrounds What audience is best for QWEL? QWEL: landscape managers, contractors, nurserymen, allied industries Irrigation Association CLIA Irrigation contractors Irrigation suppliers Water auditors Seasonal timing (water audit)

Class Scheduling

Selling the Program IA versus QWEL Certification process CEU’s Should be very clear on what each certifies Should recognize IA certifications as equal or better Should encourage courses for CEU Certification process Do you certify the company or the individual? How do you get the guys in the field trained? CEU’s Two per year, interchange with IA

Online QWEL Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper Ivy Thomson, Larry Rupp, Kelly Kopp, Candace Schaible, Nathan Smith, Neal Legler, Kathy Harris, Shaun Moser, Adrea Wheaton, and Kiarra Miller

Online QWEL Funded by USU Extension grant Seven of 12 modules transitioned online 32 videos totaling 5.5 hours of instruction Accessible to public for free via Canvas Full training & certification still require fee, hands-on audit, & exam The course has been created in Canvas, which is an online learning system utilized by Utah State and Extension services.

Expectations Reduced demand for face-to-face time for instructors and Increased convenience Reduced demand for face-to-face time for instructors and facilities Increased water conservation Potential for more online transition Partnership with California QWEL in developing a new curriculum

Home Page Home Page The home page and online course have been designed to complement the Utah QWEL website.

QWEL Course: Modules Page Under the Module page, the seven modules are listed with their corresponding overview pages and individual objectives. Four of the seven modules include practice quizzes.

QWEL Course: Module Overview Page In the Module Overview pages, there is a brief summary of what is taught and an introduction to the instructor. Learners may navigate to the individual objectives by clicking on each link, or by proceeding in order by clicking Next at the bottom of the page.

QWEL Course: Objective Page Every objective page includes an overview of what is taught. To facilitate different learning styles, each lesson is provided as a recorded movie lecture, as an audio download to listen to while working on the job, a downloadable PowerPoint pdf file, and a transcript of what the instructor teaches. Following is a summary of important points made during the lesson, and if available, links to additional resources to aid learning.

QWEL Online Course: https://www.qwelutah.com/ Emphasize that the development of QWEL Online is almost completed. *When it is done* it will be linked to from the Training page of the QWEL Utah website. Hopefully a notice will be circulated among PSC or the Ag College when it is completed so interested persons can participate or notify their networks.