All of these videos are available on the Stormwater Education playlist on the NCTCOG E & D channel on YouTube .
4 . Stormwater Quiz Show Game
The Stormwater Quiz Show game was created in 2012 . It is an interactive question-and-answer game for group education . There is a set of pre-written questions and answers , but there is also an option to customize so that educators may tailor the experience to their audience and objectives . The Stormwater Quiz Show Game and Game Editor are available online at www . nctcog . org / envir / SEEclean / stormwater / programareas / public _ education / stormwatergame . asp .
LAWN AND GARDEN CARE
The purpose of the lawn and garden care campaigns supporting the Texas SmartScape™ program is to encourage the public ( specifically homeowners and / or landscape companies ) to use native and adapted plants in the landscape and adopt proper design , care , and maintenance techniques . Texas SmartScape™ plants need less water , pesticides , and fertilizers to thrive , thus reducing these pollutants from landscape runoff .
“ March Is Texas SmartScape Month ” has been identified as a Regionally Developed Initiative ( RDI ) and provides local governments with the opportunity to join others in a common goal to educate citizens on stormwater pollution prevention . SmartScape was the main focus of the FY16 work program ; the website update and push for increased social media presence carried over into FY17 .
1 . Bookmarks
The Texas SmartScape bookmarks were developed in 2003 . The bookmarks were updated in 2013 with a new layout and new photographs . Each bookmark has a photo of a SmartScape plant on the front with the Texas SmartScape website address . On the back of the bookmarks , there is a description about the environmental benefits of Texas SmartScape plants . Additional details on obtaining the bookmarks can be found in the “ Other ” section under item 3 .
2 . Website
The Texas SmartScape™ website ( www . txsmartscape . com ) was developed for the North Central Texas region in 2003 and for the West Texas region in 2005 through the sponsorship of several organizations . It is an interactive how-to guide that teaches concepts of landscaping with native and adapted plants ; it also offers proper design , care , and maintenance techniques that are environmentally friendly . The most popular feature of this website is the plant search database , which helps the public select SmartScape plants that are appropriate for their yards / projects . On March 28 , 2021 , the Texas SmartScape website had it ’ s highest number of daily visitors , 2,343 , since the launch of the website . The previous record single day record was set in 2020 at 2,127 visitors .
In early 2017 , NCTCOG completed the FY16 initiative to overhaul the website . This effort included moving the website to a new platform and web host , improvements to search functions , ability for users to add photos , online web administration , and mobile-friendly web design . New content included plant cross-references , a map of demonstration gardens , and the updated plant database , which increased from 324 to 470 plants .
Comparing the report time period to the same period the year prior ( October 1 , 2020 to September 30 , 2021 ):
� Users increased from 197,798 to 250,261 ( 26.52 % increase )
October 2021 3