“This program does something that teachers strive for but rarely achieve: It brings our curriculum to life. And I think you changed lives in the process.”
Author Archives: Chloe Sprecker
SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR LONG-TERM EFFECTS
2018, Sacramento, California, USA
Emily Crofoot, a student at The MET Sacramento High School, wanted to not only educate her fellow students on some important environmental issues and how humans have impacted them, but to also present some simple solutions that would not require a radical lifestyle change and would have financial and/ or health benefits for students too.
She created a presentation entitled “Simple Solutions for Long- Term Effects” and presented it to 8 advisory classes at school. To encourage students to participate in the presentation/ discussion, Emily held a raffle. Students would receive tickets when they answered questions or contributed to the discussion. After the presentation, she would draw tickets and the raffle winners took home various sustainable goods, such as reusable water bottles, pencils made from recycled newspapers etc.
A fun way to engage students in an important topic!
DRIP IRRIGATION FOR THE MET GARDEN
2018, Sacramento, California, USA
As Vice President of the Garden Club at The MET Sacramento High School, Isa Sheikh had ideas for making the garden a more water efficient, sustainable operation. With Caring for Our Watersheds project funding, he installed a drip irrigation system that would allow each plant to be watered directly, reducing moisture loss through evaporation.
The timer installed with the system allows plants to be watered at the most appropriate times of day (which is not always when the club is meeting on campus), and watering can continue on school breaks and throughout the summer. This simple upgrade to the school garden is conserving water and helping to grow a thriving garden on campus.
Begging for Air (Song)
The inspirational song, Begging for Air, was submitted in the 2017-2018 school year by Manitoba finalists Alexander Clemis and local singer-songwriter, Faouzia Ouihya. The ballad is written from the perspective of a tree, with the intention to 
motivate others to create change in their community.
“The most important aspect of our solution is it can help inspire humans of all ages all over the world to protect and even promote their own
watershed for the future generations to come.” -Faouzia.
Participating teachers received a Caring for Our Watersheds USB with a copy of the song and an informational poster.
Silence Please
2018 San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina
EES N° 1, San Antonio de Areco. Students: Aylén, Melina, Tomás, Martina 
This project is based on the recycling of waste materials and the impact of sounds as a health issue. It proposes to use different materials to improve the acoustic problems in the classrooms of this High School. After trying out different recycling materials, based on acoustic measures made by the students, they confirmed that this intervention is beneficial for the classrooms.
They will choose a classroom as model and will alter its walls and roof with different “layers” that will help improve the noise levels. The idea is to measure the impact of this intervention as a previous step to proposing a school-wide intervention of all the classrooms in the school.
*This project received the donation of floor from Nutrien Ag Solutions, cardboard tube, and its waiting the final approval for the class intervention.
Bike Powered Charger
2018, Sacramento, California, USA
Justis Cooper had a unique idea to build a bike/ pedal powered generator students could use in the school workout room to charge their cell phones. This project will help demonstrate an energy-saving device (by “self” producing energy through pedaling) and encourage interest in sustainable technology at his school, The MET Sacramento.
Justis interns at a bike shop in Sacramento, so he had some “industry” knowledge and a mentor to help him complete his project. He plans on including signage by the bike to highlight the project and so students understand what they are using, how it works, and the potential energy savings. Stay fit and fully charged!
COMPOST SYSTEM AT G.W. CARVER HIGH SCHOOL
2018, Sacramento, California, USA
To complement Carver’s robust school garden, Stan Tokarev and Mevin Deo are building a three-sectioned bin to start a composting system at school.
This will divert food and garden waste from the local landfill, provide nutrient-rich soil for the garden, and demonstrate the process and environmental benefits of composting.
The students are using a combination salvaged and new materials for the bin.
Save the Bees & St. James School Composting
2018, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
In 2018, Sofia and Kristiane of St. James School in Calgary, AB implemented their project entitled “Save the Bees” throughout their schoolyard and adjacent to their outdoor classroom. While researching colony collapse disorder, the importance of protecting our native bee species, and their role in food production and ecosystem health, Sofia and Kristiane’s project helps support solitary mason bees throughout their community. They installed bee hotels in their school green space and planted native wildflowers and shrubs specifically to attract and support bee populations in the area. They then educated other classes at their school on these bee hotels and the importance of bees in our local ecosystems, encouraging others to follow suite and take action.
From the same class, Cole brought composting to St. James School to reduce food 
waste, provide nutrients for the soil in their gardens, and educate students and members of his community on the positive role composting plays in the environment and in our watershed. Cole also aimed to improve the mental health of students and teachers in his school by encouraging not only the use of their composter, but also the use of their outdoor classroom and garden space.
As the St. James Outdoor Classroom continues to evolve, students will share watershed information with their peers and educate them as to the benefits of learning in nature and natural spaces in an urban environment.
Plants Improving Air Quality
2018, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
In 2018, Alicia Poovong of Lester B. Pearson School in Calgary, Alberta placed sixth in the 2018 Caring for Our Watersheds contest with her project “Plants Improving Air Quality”.
Alicia is a passionate gardener and active member of her high school’s gardening club. While working with the club, Alicia and her teacher saw an opportunity to improve the air quality of their school by placing air purifying plants throughout various classrooms and learning spaces. By identifying concerns with high amounts of carbon emissions and urban byproducts that pollute our air and contaminate our drinking water sources, Alicia saw a strong connection between the quality of the air we breathe and the health of our Bow River Watershed.
Starting small-scale, Alicia had a positive impact on the air quality of her school by growing and distributing air filtering plants such as spider plants, ferns and ivy, to name a few, in and out of Lester B. Pearson.
Her and her teacher have also set up growing stations with UVA/UVB plant lights and solutions to local pest insects, to ensure the survival and health of these beneficial plants. Through partnerships with her school administration, Gardening Club, the Caring for Our Watersheds program, fundraising and community donations, she hopes to keep this viable, low-cost benefit to our neighbourhoods and watershed going for future students in the years to come.
Schoolyard Rain Garden and Tree Planting
2018, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
In 2018, Tina Tran of St. James School in Calgary, AB implemented her project “Rain Gardens – How Can They Impact Our Planet?”. Her goal for the project was to build a healthy rain garden in the schoolyard and educate students on the significant impacts of conserving water to our watershed. The benefits that Tina identified in researching and implementing her project included reducing the amount of carbon dioxide by allowing for more native vegetation respiration processes to occur, and conserving water by planting water-wise plants to improve soil water retention. Her and her class planted native tree and shrub species, and incorporated healthy mulch into their schoolyard gardens to inhibit weed growth and decrease the amount of water required in the rain gardens.
From the same class, Ben Trudeau spearheaded his tree planting project throughout the same garden and outdoor classroom space at his school, St. James.
He also distributed soil high in nutrients throughout these green spaces to allow for more effective growth and fill in some of the gaps throughout the gardens. Species of shrubs, birch and willow trees were planted, and the increased vegetation is supporting clean air and healthy habitats for local, native wildlife. The project has also improved the aesthetics and learning opportunities for students engaging in the outdoor classroom.