U of A Media Highlights Water and the Environment
Water is important to all living things. In arid regions where water is becoming increasingly scarce, a crucial step toward protecting this vital resource is increasing awareness. One way that the WRRC has extended its public reach is through our annual photo contest, which solicits photographs that we use to promote our events, programs, and publications to bring about more water awareness. While you are making plans to visit your favorite bodies of water during your summer travels, please remember to keep the WRRC Annual Photo Contest in mind — while the 2025 theme and special categories will be announced soon, general categories will continue to include People/Pets, Nature/Wildlife, and the Built Environment. We will begin accepting photo submissions later this summer, so get ahead of the game by taking photos that celebrate your own special connection to water. For inspiration, feel free to peruse the contest submissions from past years.
In addition, the WRRC has collaborated with other U of A units on media projects. The Dear Body of Water project is a collaboration with the University of Arizona Poetry Center and Gretchen E. Henderson, a multimedia writer and interdisciplinary educator who bridges environmental arts, cultural histories, integrative sciences, health and public humanities. It is “a poetic water-harvesting project using both digital and mail-art participation to collectively address bodies of water as fellow beings on this Earth and to cultivate care for watersheds.” The WRRC provided photos from our annual photo contest for the project. In addition, the WRRC created a short video, shown during the 2025 annual conference last month, that features selected poems submitted to Dear Body of Water read aloud by both current and previous WRRC staff and students. The video can be viewed here. Dear Body of Water seeks to elicit consideration for the following questions: What body of water is dear to you? What lake, river, ocean, creek, or aquifer supports your life on this planet? If you are interested in participating in this special project, start your love letter to a body of water here.
Another recently released video from the U of A, titled Cooperative Extension: Born From A Promise, showcases Extension’s commitment to improving the lives and livelihoods of people throughout Arizona, including all 15 counties and 22 federally recognized Tribes. For over 100 years, Cooperative Extension’s work has included helping growers during times of drought and building healthier communities through outreach, education, health screenings, and other programs. The WRRC is proud to serve as a Cooperative Extension unit!