2014 Arlington, Virginia, USA
Students in Victoria Keish’s science classes at Kenmore Middle School collaborated on a Caring for Our Watersheds project. Although their proposals did not make the finals round of the 2014 competition, two projects moved forward anyway. Since two classes had proposals relating to planting native vegetation to improve water quality in Four Mile Run, the students worked together on their Caring for Our Watersheds project, coordinating with Arlington County to organize a tree planting at the end of May in Bluemont Park, within walking distance of the school. The second project conducted outreach to the school community to encourage homeowners to install rain barrels on their property, and as an incentive they offered to reimburse the cost of attending a rain barrel workshop offered by Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment.
The tree planting project required no implementation funding, as the County was able to provide tree saplings and the necessary tools. The rain barrel workshop received $220 in implementation funding provided by Nutrien, which reimbursed the cost for four attendees at the workshop.