An ambitious effort to preserve and protect the headwaters of the Frio, Sabinal, Leona, Nueces and West Nueces rivers has been awarded the state's highest environmental honor, the 2008 Texas Environmental Excellence Award. The Nueces River Authority is one of 12 statewide winners to be recognized with an award, to be presented by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at its annual banquet, April 30, in Austin.

The campaign's centerpiece is a 24-square foot scaled relief model of the Nueces River Basin, which educators each year take to fifth and sixth-grade classrooms in a five-county area. This hands-on approach enables students to run their fingers over the terrain and literally trace the connections between creeks, rivers, and bays. Using food coloring to illustrate pollutants and spray bottles to make rain, they witness how tainted runoff makes its way downstream.

By focusing on the hows and whys instead of do's and don'ts, educators deliver a powerful message about personal responsibility. The demonstration is followed by a unique campaign, called Up 2 U, that asks students to consider how their personal choices impact water quality. The River Authority reinforces its Up 2 U message through bookmarks, billboards, and bilingual posters. In addition, 64 local river-related businesses hand out mesh litterbags for visitors to use while enjoying the river and riding its current on inner tubes. The campaign is underwritten in part by contributions from local businesses, private groups, and public-government organizations that have a direct interest in water quality.

Since its inception in 2005, the Headwaters Stewardship Campaign has invested approximately $300,000 in pollution-prevention education, and has touched more than 5,000 young lives. The project's success has led two other river authorities in Texas to adopt the program and create their own models. Through this creative educational effort, youngsters of a new generation become empowered and responsible to make better choices that affect the world around them.

The TCEQ annually presents the Texas Environmental Excellence Awards to environmental projects across the state that demonstrate excellence in resource conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. The award-winning programs reflect the goals of the TCEQ itself: to protect Texas' human and natural resources and ensure clean air, clean water and the safe management of waste. For more information or to submit an application for next year's awards, visit www.teea.org.