1. 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:

2. 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

3. Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper
Utah Certification Program

4. 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

5. Instructors
Local water agencies
USU Extension
Industry

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. Class Scheduling

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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

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

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.