Canada

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.

LIVING WALL AND GREEN AREA

2017, CALGARY, AB, CANADA

In 2017, Ryan Song of Sir Winston Churchill High School placed 4^th overall in the Caring For Our Watersheds competition with their project “Living Wall and Green Area”. Sir Winston Churchill High School was built in 1968 and has undergone very few renovations since then. The school contains very few windows, many of which do not open. Students often complain that the school environment is stifling, uninspiring and that there is poor air quality. In addition, Ryan felt that there was a general lack of environmental awareness among students at this school.

In an effort to combat these issues, and raise awareness about the local watershed, Ryan and the Sir Winston Churchill Earth Club decided to install a portable green wall, and produce information brochures about unsustainable behaviors that have a negative impact on our watershed. The portability of the green wall means that it can be moved to different classrooms within the school, based on the amount of natural light that is seasonally available in sections of the building.

The living wall and green area is maintained by student volunteers that are members of the Eath Club. Through their continued dedication to this project, and involvement with the CFOW program, these students have taken a vested interest in protecting the watershed and providing knowledge to other students about why the green wall is there and the impact our actions have on native plants and animals in our watershed.

HAWK NESTING PLATFORMS

2017, MILK RIVER, AB, CANADA

In 2017, Robin Stelten and Brooke Johnston of Erle Rivers High School in Milk River, Alberta implemented their 2015/2016 project “Hawk Nesting Platforms”. Robin and Brooke were concerned about the impact of rodenticides on local raptor populations and wanted to encourage local farmers to decrease the use of rodenticides, instead relying on raptors to control gopher and ground squirrel populations.

When rodenticides are used as a method of pest control, they can often be ingested by predators such as hawks, and be passed up the food chain, leading to bioaccumulation and often death. Second generation rodenticides are widely used in Canada and the USA and are particularly dangerous in the case of accidental ingestion by children, pets and wildlife.

In an effort to encourage raptors to nest in local rural communities, Brooke and Robin enlisted the help of Fortis Alberta to install hawk nesting platforms. In conjunction with education provided to the local community, Brooke and Robin were able to install six hawk nesting platforms just outside their community of Milk River, Alberta. Since the installation of these platforms, hawks have been seen hunting off two of the platforms. It is hoped that raptors will use these structures to nest during the 2017 nesting season.

As the area around Milk River encompasses the nesting and breeding habitat of ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis), a species considered ‘At Risk’ in Alberta, the efforts of these students to increase the local population of this particular raptor species is especially commendable.

SOAKING UP THE WATER, ONE TREE AT A TIME

2017, HAY LAKES, ALBERTA, CANADA
Tree

Dana Sych and Soren Skaret decided that to help improve their watershed, they would plant green ash trees in their school yard. After much research, the pair decided on Green Ash trees because they grow quickly, require little maintenance, and do well in wet areas but can also survive drought and cold winters- something important in this small Alberta town. They wanted to plant trees in a low spot of the school yard that often is too wet to play in, and becomes a mosquito breeding ground. They thought by planting trees the water could be absorbed, and the trees would have water to drink. Win, win!

The team also made the connection that by adding trees to their school yard, they would be directly helping to improve air quality. They included the younger grades of their school in the tree planting to help educate them about the importance of the environment and taking personal responsibility.

Dana and Soren hope that these trees will be part of their legacy at the school, soaking up the extra water, and providing shade and a wind block to students for years to come.

BIODIVERSITY DAY

2017, EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA
Biodiversity Day
Simran Panesar takes tree planting seriously. Since she started in the Caring for our Watersheds contest in grade 8, Simran found new and exciting ways to plant trees, improve biodiversity, and educate youth about their watershed.

In this year’s project, Simran had moved onto high school, but wanted to engage grade 6 students (who have a science unit on trees and forests) students from her junior high school to come get involved. Her implementation took 4 parts:

Part 1: Presentation and Pizza. Grade 6 students from A. Blair McPherson school arrived to W.P. Wagner School where they listened to Simran’s presentation about the event. They were then treated to a pizza party lunch!

Part 2: Art Project: The school’s art teacher helped lead an environmental art project for the grade sixes. They put leaf impressions into clay and made little slabs. These slabs will be fired in a kiln and then compiled into a huge environmental display. This display will be a “contemplation project” and hung up at Wagner.

Part 3: Biodiversity Game. The grade 6 students learned about the importance of biodiversity in the watershed by a game which teaches how different bird beaks adaptations allow them to eat different foods.

Part 4: The final step was the actual tree planting. 45 native trees and shrubs (including Saskatoon, Lodgepole Pine, and Red Osier Dogwood) were planted in the schools yard.

Simran was able to make space for biodiversity at her new school while engaging and educating youth.

“I just wanted to thank you for inspiring me to make a positive difference in our world! You have inspired me since the day you came to our school when I was in grade 8 to talk about Caring for Our Watersheds and the experiences I’ve gained from this competition are priceless”. -Simran

Purgin’ Sturgeon

2017, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Purgin Sturgeon student action implementation project students with canoes

Luke Roffey from Westwood Collegiate is passionate about the creek near his home. “Sturgeon Creek provides vital habitat for many species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and fish, and it’s a critical piece of nature in an otherwise urbanized landscape.” He proposed an underwater cleanup with his peers using canoes and litter removal equipment.

Purgin Sturgeon student action implementation Luke in canoe “An underwater litter removal project has never been done in Sturgeon Creek before, and judging by the amount of garbage Westwood students remove from the banks of the creek each year, there is likely a lot of garbage under the surface that needs to be cleaned up. Removing garbage from an aquatic ecosystem such as a stream greatly increases the quality of the habitat for wildlife. Gone are hazards that can cause injury and entanglement for animals. Removing floating and submerged garbage will dramatically increase not only the natural beauty of the park, but also the functionality of the ecosystem.

Many people, especially youth, have become very disconnected with the environment, and participating in my project will allow them to reconnect with nature. Canoeing in particular can be very therapeutic, thus by participating in my project students will not only be bettering their local watershed, but also bettering themselves.”

Upon hearing of the project, a local company “Wilderness Supply” offered to loan all of the equipment free of charge. During the cleanup, students engaged with passerby’s explaining their project and the importance to the watershed. It was a great day they now hope to repeat on an annual basis.

Pollinator Garden (Lasagna Garden)

2017, Trenton, Ontario, Canada

In 2017, three students; Xavier, Samuel, and Félix from École Secondaire Marc-Garneau Public Elementary School, proposed the idea to build a lasagna garden. They wanted to build the garden in their school yard to help attract more native species to the area.

The lasagna garden is composed of several different layers, first you must dig 4 inches down and place edging around it. Then the layers are as follows; cardboard, straw, garden fertilizer, compost, aged manure mix with compost, and finally soil.

Pollinator (Lasagna) Garden Student Action Ontario

Once the garden had been created the students planted native flowers in the garden to attract native species of birds and butterflies. The completion of this project will aid in supporting bees and other pollinating species to thrive once again.

The boys placed 4^th overall, and their project was implemented in June 2017, with the help of the student’s classmates

Building Local Rain Gardens

2017, Campbellford, Ontario, Canada

In 2017, Paige a grade eight student at Hillcrest Public School proposed the idea of building a rain garden,and placed 3^rd overall. The idea being that the garden would help to mitigate the amount of runoff entering the local waterway.

She picked a spot in her local community of Campbellford where roads surround the entire perimeter of the canal. After a rain fall the water off of these roads can wash things like sand and salt but can also wash car oils, dirt, animal waste. This then enters directly into the canal and can cause issues.

The project was completed in June of 2017, with the help of her classmates at Hillcrest Public School. She is implementing this rain garden as a solution to storm water problems in her local community, to reduce the amount of runoff going directly from the roads into the local canal, in hopes to improve the water quality.