Missouri NEMO

So this past month, I stumbled across the National NEMO Network.

As I’m sure many of you are confused by the name, I’d like to clarify this organization has very little to do with animated clown fish or Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and a lot to do with clean water! “NEMO” stands for “nonpoint education for municipal officials,” which translates to stormwater education for local decision-makers.

The National NEMO Network was created in 1991 at the University of Connecticut. Over the past nearly 20 years, the NEMO Network has expanded to include 32 members in 31 states. Each state’s program is tailored to that state, with the goal of teaching local land use decision makers about the impact of land use on water quality.

As those of you that are St. Louisans know, this region has a lot of rivers and streams and experiences a lot of rain, and consequentially, also has a number of stormwater issues. Many of the streams in the area suffer from what’s known as “urban stream syndrome,” which is largely a product of urban sprawl. One of the projects I’ve been working on this year is stormwater education and awareness, teaching community groups about sustainable stormwater management—also known as green infrastructure.

In short, my happenstance discovery of the NEMO Network, as well as that Missouri’s program is still being developed, in combination with MCE looking to do more outreach to and education of local land use decision makers, and the fortuitous fact that the Missouri NEMO program is housed in the Department of Conservation in St. Louis by someone I’ve met on several occasions—all this has amounted to the birth of NEMO.

NEMO, a play on "Missouri NEMO," is a budding partnership between the MCE, Department of Conservation, East-West Gateway Council of Governments, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District. The next MCE Clean Water AmeriCorps volunteer will have a vital role in the partnership, educating with community groups (who support local land use decision makers) on stormwater issues and green infrastructure—particularly rain gardens.

With any luck, through the efforts NEMO’s partners, the St. Louis metropolitan region will learn how to make natural resource-based land use decisions that make stormwater management greener and more sustainable… all in the name of cleaner water in Missouri!

Stay cool, and I’ll see you in August!