Author Archives: Chloe Sprecker

A Day in the Life of Netly-Libau Marsh – A Documentary

2021, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Xavier, a student at Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School, wanted to create an educational resource to teach Manitoba students about the importance of the Netley-Libau marsh that borders Lake Winnipeg. He decided to create a documentary to not only educate people, but to take them there on a virtual “visit”, as well. This resource can be used by students, teachers, and anyone who wishes to learn more about the importance that this vast wetland holds for the Lake Winnipeg watershed.

“Located at the mouth of the Red River and the south end of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, Netly-Libau Marsh is one of the largest and most important coastal wetlands in North America. This is its story.”

Switching to Biodegradable Bags

2021, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

When Katelyn from École Seven Oaks Middle School in Winnipeg, MB interviewed students at her school, she found out that many of them pick up their dog’s waste using regular plastic bags. She thought about all the plastic waste that must be thrown in the trash and thought that she could help reduce it by proposing biodegradable dog bags!

“Dog waste and dog bags have a bigger impact on our watersheds than you think.”

She created a virtual presentation about the way that dog waste and plastic dog bags can impact her watershed that her school mates were able to watch online, and then samples of the biodegradable bags were distributed to students with pets at home. Katelyn hopes that these students and their families will make the permanent switch to these eco-friendly bags and encourage others to do so, as well!

Replacing Sinks Will Preserve Our Watershed

2021, Greely, Colorado, USA

Global Climate Change is increasing the severity of our shortening water supply. Jorge Rubio learned that the Northern Colorado population is expected to grow in the next few decades, causing great concern for meeting future water demands. Jorge wanted to take action, so he looked into his school’s water use. To do this, Jorge collected data at his school to determine how much water was being used in the bathrooms for hand washing purposes. He found that replacing the old faucets at his school could cut water use by 30,429 gallons in one school year! Jorge used Nutrien’s implementation funds to install new and more efficient water faucets on the main floor. He wanted to expand his efforts, so he raised an additional $800. He hopes to install more faucets at his school to continue improving water efficiency in his watershed. He looks forward to continuing with his mission!

Legacy Story – John Paul Wasan

Where are they now? Learn more about John Paul’s Reclaim Our Prairie! initiative, and how Caring for Our Watersheds has left a lasting legacy.

Reusable Containers

2019, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Ava and Allynah are students at École Leila North Community School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They wanted to reduce the amount of disposable plastics ending up in our watershed, so they came up with a plan to distribute reusable sandwich containers to students at their school.

“Many people throw items away not thinking of the damage it can lead to. Because of that, there is more pollution and it is not only harming us, but animals as well. If you look around, you will always see garbage on the ground, no matter where you are.”

They did presentations to each class to educate their fellow students while handing out the containers. The school’s canteen partnered with the girls to help promote the use of their containers and to offer a discount on drinks if students brought their own bottles to fill.

Rain Garden at School

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

After learning about issues related to urban storm water runoff, Suad Abdan and Elizabeth Meads spent time researching ways to address this concern is their local watershed. They learned that a well-placed rain garden can serve to help “slow the flow” of runoff, to help water infiltrate into the soil and recharge groundwater, as well as provide habitat and food for insects and wildlife. They also liked the idea of creating something aesthetically pleasing that had so many environmental benefits.

Suad and Elizabeth spent time during the winter surveying their campus for an appropriate location for a rain garden. They chose a low spot where water seemed to drain to from the campus right before the water would flow onto the road and into the storm drain.

They chose a variety of plants that develop deep root systems, were able to tolerate seasonal inundation with water, but also survive dry periods. While their garden was relatively small, both girls learned a lot about the design and process of installing these rain gardens and how they can serve as tools to reduce storm water runoff.

rain garden

student action

Their demonstration project will be a learning tool for the garden class at George Washington Carver High School, who will monitor the garden to see how it is performing after the plants have established and grown over the next year. Caring for Our Watersheds funds help purchase plants and mulch for the garden.

Watershed-Themed Children’s Book

2019, West Sacramento, California, USA

River City High School student Sonya Shifrin has a passion for the environment and the arts. For her Caring for Our Watersheds project, she chose to combine her artistic talents and her enthusiasm for natural resource stewardship to create a watershed-themed book for children.

Sonya, who was a finalist in the 2018 Caring for Our Watersheds competition, created watercolor illustrations for each page of her book, which introduces watershed concepts and encourages students to care for their local watershed with examples of what they can do in their daily lives to make a difference. With funding from Nutrien, Sonya was able to print copies of her book and donate them to each of the elementary school libraries in the Washington Unified School District.

watershed childrens book example

Canyon Creek Trail Clean-Up

2019, Auburn, California, USA

MET Sacramento High School student Faith Smitham was concerned with all the trash she saw along one of the most popular trails in the Auburn State Recreation Area, the Canyon Creek Trail. For her Caring for Our Watersheds project, Faith organized a clean-up of the trail and creek area, including the trailhead and parking area, where much trash is found.

On Saturday, May 11, Faith and her small group of volunteers spend around 4 hours cleaning up the trail, and talking to other visitors about her project.

garbage clean up

As a result, several hikers actually joined in their clean-up efforts, contributing to the success of the day! Faith also gathered data on the different types of trash they collected (plastic bottles were the most numerous) and planned to share this with park rangers, in case it may inform future signage, management, and the prevention of littering and pollution in this beautiful area.

Watershed Science Trip

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

Watershed Science Trip Student Photo

MET Sacramento student Simon Downes-Toney knows how a field trip can solidify and enhance classroom learning about watershed issues and also get students excited about science. As this was one of the largest snow-years on record, it presented an excellent opportunity to learn about the snowpack that is critical to California’s water supply.

Measuring snow depth and density at levels in the snowpit

Simon organized a trip to Claire Tappan Lodge, where students measured snow temperature and density at different levels within the snowpack, snow purity at different field locations, and graphed and analyzed their data. Simon’s proposal and funding from Nutrien allowed for more students to attend the trip and learn about how scientists track, study, and predict water supply with this critical resource.

Building a Compost Bench

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

As a student at The MET Sacramento High School, Shamar Russell spends part of his week at an internship in the community. Shamar interns at the Creative Connections Arts Academy (CCAA), where two needs he saw in the garden area sparked an idea for his Caring for Our Watersheds project.

Shamar wanted to teach the children of CCAA about composting, but there was not a good space to build a 3-section compost bin. There was also a need for seating for a teaching space in the garden area.

compost bench

Shamar decided on a project that would fulfill both needs: a compost bench! While the bench has a smaller capacity for composting garden waste, it still can be used as a focal point to teach about composting to the students. It also serves as a place where students can sit for a lesson in the garden or where students and teachers can rest after planting, weeding, or harvesting.

The current design allows for a potential worm bin, or the bottom can be removed if ground contact is desired for more traditional composting. Signage will be included to point out this unique new feature of the garden space at CCAA. Caring for Our Watersheds funding helped Shamar purchase lumber and hardware to build the bench.