USA

Community Thrift Event

2021, Cincinnati, OH, USA

From the beginning, Stefanie and Caitlin knew the harmful effects of fast fashion on
the Millcreek watershed were what they wanted to address. From clothing waste in landfills,
dyes polluting our waterways, and water waste, this is a very important issue to tackle. Their
initial plan was to put on a “Community Thrifting Event.” They had planned on going to
collect clothes, repair old ones, rent out space, and hold an in-person event. However, Covid
numbers in their area just weren’t low enough where they felt comfortable putting on this
event.

Instead of putting on one event for people to thrift, they decided to focus on teaching people the importance of thrifting continuously. They presented a video to six science classes in our school, as well as sharing it with their local community through youtube. They also created a Kahoot to quiz the classes after the video, fostering a class discussion around the effects of fast fashion and thrifting. The winners of the kahoot each won a reusable tote bag to hopefully take with them on their future thrifting endeavors!

They also created a thrifting guide, for secondhand spots in the Cincinnati area, with information regarding prices and available items. Using a QR code, we passed out these thrifting guides in the form of a business card, making it an accessible and easy
way to get into thrifting.

Go To Bat For Our Watershed

2021, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Located in Southwestern Ohio, the Mill Creek Watershed has suffered greatly due to pollution over the past 100 years. Named “the most endangered urban river in North America” and “one of the most severely polluted and physically degraded urban streams in the United States,” primarily caused by non-point source (NPS) pollution (including lawn chemicals and pesticides), the Mill Creek needs help.

Mark Keller and Owen Vickers, students at Wyoming High School put together a proposal to help save the Mill Creek Watershed. In their proposal, they made an argument that creating habitats where bats can thrive may be the answer to enhancing the health of the watershed. With a flourishing bat population that can eat thousands of insects a night, they suggest that pesticide use and pollution caused by runoff into the watershed can be greatly reduced.

Their proposal, Go 2 Bat for Our Watershed, included developing an educational program that will help improve the reputation of bats as an important and useful member of our ecosystem, education of people about the benefits bats provide, and providing resources for people to encourage bat habitats in their yards and gardens. The campaign included creating a website (go2bat.org), development of promotional materials, including posters and flyers which were distributed at the Wyoming schools, social media (Twitter and Facebook) and school blog posts. They also raffled off 10 bat houses among those who registered on their website with their email addresses, to further promote the use of bat houses and increase traffic to their website. The website received 182 unique visitors within the first 20 days of the campaign, with 26 users signing up for the bat house promotion. Although their campaign primarily targeted the community of Wyoming, Ohio, they made recommendations for additional promotional opportunities to raise awareness among a larger audience and other communities, making an even bigger impact to help save the Mill Creek Watershed.

Increasing Cleveland’s Depleted Tree Canopy

2021, Cleveland, OH, USA

The project is titled Increasing Cleveland’s Depleted Tree Canopy, which has massively decreased over the last eighty years. Ehthyu and Emeraude decided to focus on trees because they create a safe environment and help reduce stormwat er runoff by absorbing pollutants from their roots, which helps keep pollution from getting into the Lake Erie Watershed. Trees provide oxygen, habitat to the wildlife, and benefit our environment in so many ways. Increasing the number of trees in our community and spreading awareness about the importance of trees in our environment was the number one goal of this project.

Ehthyu and Emeraude developed three original virtual lessons about trees and their importance in our environment and taught them to local fifth graders over a week in April. The students were given brochures, which contained more information on trees and how to plant them so that the students can have more knowledge on trees and know how important they are to the environment. Each student was also provided a red oak seedling, so that they also can contribute to this act of increasing the Cleveland’s tree canopy by planting trees. Each of the seedlings came with a brochure so they will know how to take care of their trees, until they will grow and reach full maturity. The students were engaged in the lessons as they were taught and seemed to be interested to know how much trees can help create a healthier environment.

Eastern white pine seedlings were also distributed that were received from the Project Plantit! Program through Dominion Gas to community members directly and through a local organization called the Bellarie-Puritas Development Corporation, along with the brochures to spread the word and encourage people to start planting. The rest of the seedlings were distributed to as many people as possible with brochures. Three trees were also planted on the John Marshall High School campus grounds. They were mulched and watered afterwards so they can thrive, and they will be maintained, and the growth of the trees will be monitored throughout the years. Through this project, Ehthyu and Emeraude had the opportunity to educate people through the lessons they developed and the brochures they designed and produced. They spread the word about the importance of trees, how trees can benefit the environment, and how trees keep the watershed clean. It was a great and fun project that was enjoyed by all. Ehthyu and Emeraude are grateful for the funding and this opportunity.

Lighting Our Way to a Greener Future

2021, Cincinnati, OH, USA

The project “Lighting Our Way to a Greener Future” is all about energy conservation. The concern was that the sidewalks and landscaping around Mount Notre Dame High School weren’t well lit, and the school was planning on placing new lights. This group decided to place solar powered lights around the school instead of a standard light, which emits harmful emissions into the environment.

The first step was finding a light that works. Two lights were ordered, and after careful consideration and testing, as well as price comparison, NekTek Solar Powered Lights were chosen. A map was filled out of where lights were needed, and it was decided that a total of 60 lights would be ordered. After ordering the lights, they were put together and registered for a one-year warranty. Using the help of the maintenance crew and Earth Action Team at MND, the lights were placed around the school. In the next several days, the lights were observed, and changes were made based on positioning and exposure to sunlight.

Posters were also created to help spread awareness about the project, as well as encourage MND students that this is something they could easily do at home. This project demonstrated how caring for our watershed can be simple. There are steps that everyone can do in their lives to help. Overall, placing the lights helped reduce the amount of energy used at Mount Notre Dame. This project tackled several Sustainable Development Goals and successfully cared for our watershed.

Let’s Catch the Rain

2021, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Morgan and Allison worked to reduce non-point source pollution and combined sewer overflow while promoting water conservation by adding rain barrels to a local elementary school and their community garden. At Vermont Elementary School they added two fifty-gallon rain barrels, and the elementary school kids are able to use the recycled water to water their school garden. In addition, Morgan and Allison taught a lesson to the students about the importance of saving water and the effects of runoff. The rain barrels they installed are painted with designs picked out by the fourth graders themselves to add a fun touch (they chose fish and raindrops with the Wyoming School District logo!). They got a group of volunteers to come and help them paint the rain barrels, and using the new research and innovation center at their high school, they made templates of the fish and Wyoming logos to assist them in painting.

At the community garden Morgan and Allison first added a gutter system to the pre-existing shed to collect water. Then they connected to two fifty-gallon rain barrels to the downspout to divert the rainwater. Gardeners are able to help conserve water and reduce runoff by using the recycled water when watering their plants.

To better spread the word about their project, water conservation, and the impacts of surface runoff, they created posts on the school Instagram page and a community Facebook group. Additionally, they created a sign placed next to the rain barrels at the elementary school so curious students and parents can learn more. Lastly, they created a website that can be reached through the QR code on the sign and through links on the social media posts. The website includes information on the Mill Creek Watershed, information about water conservation, tutorials on how to install rain barrels with links to the products, and a description about their projects.

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!

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.