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Rethink Runoff reports new volunteer sampling push and refreshed ad campaign
Summary
Winooski NRCD and contractor Pluck told the MS4 Subcommittee on May 6 that La Rosa sampling and volunteer outreach are ramping up, school events and rain-barrel activities are planned, and the ad campaign shows higher sessions though lower page views.
At the May 6, 2025 MS4 Subcommittee meeting, Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District and contractor Pluck reported progress on Rethink Runoff outreach and field sampling.
Lucas Goldfluss, Winooski NRCD, said the La Rosa sampling effort has kicked off and volunteers are emerging as local champions. "We have a lot of volunteers, who are becoming local champions in their respective communities," Goldfluss said. He reported five of six sampling events are on the calendar and that the Winooski event still needs scheduling. Goldfluss described school outreach (an estimate of working with up to 177 children), a rain-barrel painting at Arts Riot, an outgoing newsletter and partnerships with MS4 conservation commissions, UVM Sea Grant and what was recorded in the minutes as "Vermont UCF." He said the team had identified a private citizen in Essex managing a rain garden who could host an event next year.
Dave Barron, the contractor from Pluck, reviewed winter and spring digital campaign metrics and outreach plans. "Page views is down, but sessions and engaged sessions are up. Engagement rate is nearly identical," Barron said, and noted the campaign ran Nov.–Mar. He described Winter Salt Week messaging, ADA improvements to website navigation, a spring push for rain-garden plants and a rain-barrel campaign running May through June (possibly into August). Barron said the municipal projects landing page has been launched but currently lists only four or five projects, and he described using targeted social ads and some print placements in community newspapers.
Members briefly discussed microplastics in runoff; the committee said it does not currently have the capacity to develop work on microplastics. The subcommittee also discussed targeted outreach channels; Barron said Front Porch Forum is the most expensive outreach option and that Facebook targeting is a viable alternative for town-level outreach.
Next steps: Winooski NRCD and Pluck will continue scheduling sampling events and executing spring outreach. The subcommittee’s next in-person meeting is June 3.
