Author Archives: Chloe Sprecker

Reducing Plastic Waste at School

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

Rachel Freidberg and Barcelona Boyd, students of George Washington Carver High School, knew they wanted to focus on reducing single-use plastic waste for their Caring for Our Watersheds project. Besides the ubiquitous plastic water bottles, another source of plastic waste was coming from the school cafeteria: the spork packet. When looking closer at spork packet use, they found that many of students that took a spork packet did so only because they needed the napkin inside! Thus, there was plastic waste created without it even being used! They knew there was a better way.

Rachel and Barcelona wanted to replace the plastic utensils with reusable silverware and make separate napkins available to students. A main challenge to their proposed project was the fact that the school did not have a dishwasher to sanitize the silverware. However, they did not let this stop them! They developed a pilot project, using Dept. of Health standards and guidelines and rotating student volunteers to wash and sanitize the silverware generated at lunchtime at their relatively small school. Rachel and Barcelona’s well-planned project and their persistence in making a difference even within the limits of school’s infrastructure and equipment helped them take fifth in the Caring for Our Watersheds Finals.

Improving Recycling at School

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

Suliana Tagitau, Emily Valtierra, and Tylique Watkins wanted to improve recycling at their school. They recognized that while there were bins in some classrooms, they were not universally recognized as recycling bins and hardly used. They also noticed that there were no bins where they were needed most, like in the courtyard area where most students ate lunch.

old bins in some classrooms

These George Washington Carver High School students submitted a proposal to buy larger classic blue bins for the lunch area, which they would decorate to attract attention and promote use. They would then use the extra paint to refurbish some of the old bins in the classrooms, to make them easily recognizable. Finally, classic blue bins would be purchased for classrooms without any existing bins.

The group also plans to attach a small laminated sheet to each bin reminding students and teachers what can and can’t be recycled. Caring for Our Watersheds funds helped purchase the bins and paint for the project.

Pollinator Garden

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

When Anahi Orozco, Giselle Pantoja, and Ryan Mengell, students at George Washington Carver High School, starting researching topics for their Caring for Our Watersheds project, they learned a lot about the importance of pollinators in agriculture and that their numbers have been rapidly decreasing. Learning about issues like Colony Collapse Disorder (in honeybees) as well as habitat loss inspired them to help support bee populations, including many species of native bees that can also serve as successful pollinators.

They planted a pollinator garden on campus with several different species that would provide nectar sources throughout the year and installed a bee nesting box that would provide nest sites for different sizes and species of many California native bees.

Establishing this garden will also benefit the pollination in the school’s nearby garden, and serve as a educational component of garden class. Caring for Our Watersheds funding helped purchase plants, soil, and the nest box for their “Bee Friendly” garden.

WATER-EFFICIENT GARDEN AND COOP AT A.M. WINN SCHOOL

garden student action

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

For their Caring for Our Watersheds project, G.W. Carver High School students Jasmine Chicas and Lea Fehringer decided to focus on the issue of water quantity as drought cycles are a reality of California life. Specifically, they wanted to help raise awareness in elementary school students about the importance of water conservation.

Lea and Jasmine created an educational space at A. M. Winn elementary school that demonstrates efficient water use and also provides a fun, interactive area for students, They built a chicken coop with rain barrels set up to collect the runoff from the coop’s roof. They also planted a drought-tolerant native plant garden with a drip irrigation system that will prevent the loss of any water to evaporation or runoff.

With their project, they fulfilled teacher visions for the space, and provided many examples of responsible water usage for the students to learn from for years to come. Caring for Our Watersheds funds helped buy lumber, rain barrels, irrigation supplies, and plants for the project.

Biochar – A Garden Demo Study

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

When George Washington Carver High School students Camille Chappell and Nathan Castro first learned about biochar, they became intrigued. Biochar is a soil amendment that can improve soil health, boost plant growth, and has the potential to sequester carbon in the soil for hundreds to thousands of years.

In an effort to learn more about and educate others about this charcoal-like substance and its potential environmental benefits, Camille and Nathan created a biochar demonstration garden and designed a study comparing plant growth of a plant grown in biochar amended soil and one in regular soil. They took measurements at least twice a week and collected data on the amount of leaves and flowers present. They synthesized their data into a presentation that they gave to their class. chi

The presentation served as a catalyst for discussion and raised awareness about biochar and its potential to both improve plant growth and act as a carbon sink. This project gave Camille and Nathan an introductory experience with designing and conducting a scientific study as well as gave them and their classmates a chance to take a closer look at this interesting substance that is getting more attention in the fields agriculture and climate change science.

Environmental Field Trip to SMUD

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

Claudia Negrete, a student at the MET Sacramento, also interns at the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD), where she has been learning about the organization’s various energy conservation efforts and renewable energy incentives.

Claudia developed a way to share her own transformative experience with her classmates at school, and wrote a project proposal for a field trip for her class to visit SMUD headquarters to introduce them to SMUD’S sustainability initiatives.

SMUD Field Trip Activity

The agenda included energy- saving tips/ techniques/ products for the home, a hands-on STEM solar activity, Atrium lecture, a talk on LEED building certification etc. Caring for Our Watersheds funding helped make this fun, educational trip a reality for the students.

Legacy Story – Maven Boddy

Where is she now? Learn how Caring for Our Watersheds has left a lasting legacy for Maven from Alberta, Canada.

Removing the Stains that Microplastics Create

2019, Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada

Sarah Cadotte, a student from Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School, wanted to tackle the issue of microplastics in our watershed that come from fibres that drain out of our washing machines when we clean our clothes. She found a product that helps filter out these tiny pieces of fibre by attaching to washing machine drainage hoses. She obtained permission to have three of them installed within her school division. The filters can be emptied into the trash where the plastic pieces can be properly disposed of, rather than making their way into our water systems.

Filtrol Filter Student Implementation

“If I can inspire my community to take action, even in something as small as installing a filter, then maybe there’s a greater hope that eventually, more people can become more economically aware of what’s going on in our waters and how even the smallest things can make great impacts.”

Rochelle Jacks, Teacher at Mira Loma High School, Sacramento California

“The CFW competition has been an effective way to deepen student understanding of the local and global environmental issues we face and the complexity involved in addressing them. It empowers students to take action in a way that is both feasible and measurable, providing a unique opportunity to develop engineering, service learning and project management skills. The proposal allows for a large degree of student choice both in the topic and means of addressing the issue, so they are authentically engaged in the research and planning of their project. That level of ownership is fundamental to a meaningful learning experience.”

Caring for Our Watersheds wins national conservation award

The Canadian Wildlife Federation named Nutrien the 2019 recipient of the Youth Mentor Award for its Caring for Our Watersheds (CFW) program.

CWF Youth Mentor Award Presentation

The Youth Mentor Award recognizes an individual or group that creates, presents or encourages conservation, habitat, or wildlife programs to the youth of Canada.

“It is a true honor to be recognized by a revered environmental organization like the Canadian Wildlife Federation and to be part of a program that is driving positive change in our local watersheds,” said Chloe Sprecker, Nutrien’s 2019 Education Program Coordinator.

CFW was launched in 2007, with the premise to turn student ideas into environmental solutions. Since then, over 30,000 students have participated in the program.

“It has been an outstanding year,” says Chloe. “Thanks to the knowledge and effort of our community partners, we’re reaching more students, receiving more entries and most importantly, these students are implementing their environmental solutions to protect and improve their local watershed.”

In its biggest year yet, there will be approximately 2,300 contest entries this school year from students looking to improve their local watershed in Canada, the United States and Argentina. As the quantity of entries grow, so does the quality of student ideas getting more impressive and diverse each year.

As of 2019, more than 425 student-led solutions have been implemented to improve watersheds around the world. With funding provided by Nutrien, and support from over 300 community partners and volunteers globally, we will continue to bring these incredible ideas to life.