Our Mission is to..

Provide leadership in Extension education to empower individuals to change practices and behaviors in order to protect public health and environmental quality in the U.S. Virgin Islands. VICES also works with local, regional and federal partners to increase public awareness of the immediate and long-term impacts of poor land use planning and development practices, and to promote the development of a comprehensive watershed management strategy that incorporates the use of low-impact development practices and conservation of natural resources. To accomplish this mission, the

Our Goals are to..

1. Develop and promote educational programs about health risks associated with water quality impairment, failing septic systems, toxic household products, and environmental justice with emphasis on under-served communities.
2. Protect the quantity and quality of the territory's ground and surface water resources through educational programs that promote the implementation of low-impact development practices to protect watersheds and aquifers.
3. Increase the public's knowledge of the characteristics and functions of aquatic ecosystems (guts, salt ponds, mangrove lagoons, bays and oceans), including their role within a watershed, and increase knowledge of pollution prevention practices and personal actions they can employ to conserve and protect aquatic ecosystems and watersheds.
4. Increase public understanding and involvement in community decision-making and in the creation of public policy on water resource and environmental quality issues.
5. Develop and deliver educational programs that enable individuals to safeguard their own drinking water quality.
6. Develop and maintain partnerships for more effective and sustained solutions to long-term water quality and quantity issues.
7. Identify and/or develop technical materials related to watershed planning, low-impact development and nonpoint source pollution control practices and systems for use by policy-makers and regulatory personnel and disseminate information related to these topics through the local news media.

Key Components of the Water Quality Program are to..

• Facilitate the interaction of community groups and leaders to address water conservation and watershed management issues, as well as pollution control and prevention.
• Provide education, outreach & technical assistance to government agencies, community groups, various areas of the private sector, and the general public on a variety of topics, including:
  • Low-impact development;
  • Erosion, sediment, and stormwater control;
  • Environmental Landscaping – preserving native habitats and incorporating native, drought-tolerant plants into the landscape;
  • Watershed planning & protection;
  • Cistern and septic system operation & maintenance;
  • Habitat, resource & open space conservation; and
  • Environmental assessment.