California

Campus Pollinator Garden

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Girl sitting beside created habitat for native pollinators
Josephine Rios and Natalie Durling, students at George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences, took on a project that both beautified their school’s campus and created habitat for native pollinators. The duo, aiming to attract a variety of pollinators to the school garden, did their research (or “beesearch” as they called it) on specific species to plant and bee hotel to install. They also installed drip irrigation in their plot, which will serve as a demonstration garden highlighting water-wise, and pollinator friendly landscaping practices.

Girls working in garden Student giving thumbs up near habitats for native pollinators

Campus Tree Planting

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA

Grant High School students Mai Lee, Husia Lee, and Visay Phasavath proposed and implemented a drought-tolerant tree planting on their school’s campus. The trees will provide shade, help capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as create an attractive space on campus for students to gather. The team reached out to Sacramento Tree Foundation for assistance, and the organization provided trees, as well as guidance on tree species, planting techniques, and proper care of the saplings. Fellow students Joscelyn Lor, Tatiana Blackmon, Ariya Vue’s proposal also helped obtain funding and materials needed to make the tree planting project a success.

1. Students digging hole for a tree 2. Students planting a tree 3. Students posing for camera

Campus Clean-up & Trash and Recycling Bins

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Girls painting trash can Girl showing thumbs up after painting trash can
Selena Garcia and Samsara Gomez, students at Grant High School were concerned about the amount trash on their school campus. They knew that in addition to making campus unsightly, that the trash has potential to be washed into nearby waterways, and/ or cause issues for soil, plants and wildlife in the area. They tackled the problem by creating clean -up groups to pick up trash around campus after lunch 2-3 times per week for 3 months (until school ended). They also added additional trash and recycling bins around campus. The bins were painted in bright attractive colors to encourage student use. The team also created and posted signage in areas they saw most of the litter, encouraging students to properly dispose of their trash after lunch, etc. Fellow students Jocelin Perez, Belen Thompson, Sara Rios, Yadira Manriquez, Bryan Portillo, and Eliezer Salazar assisted in the implementation of this successful project, which the team hopes to continue next school year.

Trash in raised garden bed Raised garden bed clean Girl standing next to garden bed

Promenade Pollinator Planting

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA

Before green house on empty field

Grant High School student Landon Lo’s proposal was to support pollinators by creating and expanding habitat on the school campus. Helped by fellow students Valeria Sanchez, Adan Lopez, Chris V. and others, he was able to see his project through and transform 4 raised planter beds into gardens boasting a variety of pollinator-friendly, drought tolerant plant species. Their plantings surrounded a beautiful “pollinator totem” to create a beautiful space on campus.

Students shovelling soil into wheel barrows Students working with soil in raised garden bed Student with hoes watering raised garden bed

After green house with raised garden beds and totem

Garden Education for 5th graders

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Boys learning how to plant seeds

Jessica Espejo Arellano, Kathy Nguyen, Abigail Murillo Maldonado, and Cher´Nae Perry, students from Grant High School’s GEO Academy, invited 5th and 6th graders from Hagginwood Elementary to the Grant garden to learn about seeds, vegetable and pollinator plants, as well as the benefits of composting. The elementary students planted seeds, learned plant anatomy by cooking “5 plant part chow mein”, investigated critters in the compost and soil, and made plant ID bookmarks. The GEO student leaders planned and led the hands-on activities with the rotating groups. Additional students from GEO, Ghulam Murtaza Niazi, Rodrigo Gatto, Alejandro Gil-Reyes, Milton Molina helped make this day a fun, educational and successful event for all.

Students outside working on a picnic table with soil Two girls kneeling by garden doing a project Classroom full of students

Water Testing Demo Project

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

George Washington Carver High School students Ekhman Kahlon and Tess Brown are concerned about the direct and indirect pollution of their local creeks. They are also concerned about the lack of awareness (especially of their peer group) about the importance of water quality and how it can affect the aquatic ecosystem as well as drinking water. They devised a project in which they would test some basic indicators of water quality in 2 local creeks, then discuss their findings through social media. In order to gain the attention of their peer group, the team designed and posted creek-themed memes, then posted about the constituents they tested for and what levels outside the standard range can mean for the health of the creek. Ekman and Tess themselves learned a lot from the process and hope to get others interested learning more about water quality and the sources of pollutants in our waterways.

Vertical Garden Project

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

When Ella Waite and Mia Andrade from George Washington Carver High School started researching vertical gardens, they were impressed by the myriad of environmental and social benefits they could provide. For their Caring for Our Watersheds project, Ella and Mia decided to not only build a vertical garden, but to also document the process and share through social media. With this added component, they could more widely demonstrate the benefits of the design and hopefully inspire others to try this type of gardening. As detailed in their proposal, vertical gardens allow people to efficiently utilize the space available in urban environments to provide food, improve air quality, reduce heat-island effects, save energy, and increase biodiversity.

Rain Barrel Project

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

George Washington Carver High School students Abigail Parayo, John Hixson, Viktoria Neufeld, Antonio Ramirez are concerned about drought in California and wanted to focus their Caring for Our Watersheds project on ways to conserve water at home. As almost half of residential water in CA is used on outdoor landscapes, they decided to install a water barrel at one of the student’s homes. Rainwater would be collected during winter and spring storms and could be used to water plants in the yard during the drier months. The group connected the barrel to the existing rainspout using an adapter kit and built a stand for the rain barrel to help gravity feed water through a hose to reach further plants. This project allowed them to get one step further toward their water conservation goals, gave them some basic construction experience, and allowed them to safely complete an outdoor project at home during COVID-19.

Pollinator Garden Project

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

George Washington Carver High School students Alicia Hernandez, Nyla Jones, and Brandon Chu initiated a project that aims to raise awareness about declining pollinator populations well as establish habitat and nectar sources for native bees. The group grew pollinator- friendly plant species from seed to establish gardens and to give plant starts to members of their community. A brochure that discusses the importance of pollinators, the benefits of the species chosen, and tips for plant care will accompany the plants they distribute. Caring for Our Watersheds funding from Nutrien helped the group purchase materials needed for planting and outreach.

Lincoln Village Clean-Up Project

2021, Sacramento, CA, USA

When George Washington Carver High School students Imani Stroman-Valdez, Nyah Parker, Andrey Sasevich, Max Musacchia were planning their Caring for Our Watersheds project, they knew they wanted to complete a stewardship project close to their high school. They identified the Lincoln Village Community Park and the adjacent Neil Orchard Senior Activities Center as an area that could use some attention and care. The students planned and conducted a litter clean-up event at the park and center.

In addition, they identified areas to place 2 low-maintenance continuous composters, to reduce organic waste in the trash bins. The compost created would be used to enrich the soil in the flower beds around the Center. While the group is awaiting approval for the placement of the composters, they were able to complete the clean-up and be stewards of a park quite close to home and their school community.