USA

A Rain Garden for Kenmore Middle School

2014 Arlington, Virginia, USA

Students in Liz Castillo’s sixth grade science class were concerned that stormwater runoff from the school property contributes to erosion and the transport of pollutants that reach Four Mile Run in Arlington. One of the places they noticed runoff was from the entrance awning to the school, which drained to a bare patch of ground in a highly visible location. The students recognized that this would be a good potential location for a rain garden, for practical and aesthetic reasons, and they knew that the previous year Kenmore students had not been able to get approval to put a rain garden on the roof. Their Caring for Our Watersheds proposal outlined their plan to make this improvement, and it was a finalist in the 2014 competition.

To implement their project, they enlisted the help of students at Washington‐Lee High School, who were able to provide some funding for rototilling through a Girl Scout Gold Award project, as well as additional muscle power to dig up the hard packed ground. Nutrien provided $640 toward plants, topsoil, mulch, and gravel for the rain garden, which had an overall budget of $887.

Pond Habitat – it’s in Our Hands

2014 Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Eighth graders at Lanier Middle School noticed that ducks frequently nest near a small pond created in the schoolyard’s habitat area, and they wanted to ensure the area supported duck nesting and wise water use. They felt that using rain barrels to fill the pond would be a better use of resources than filling the pond with potable water, and a good way to lead by example. However, they found that the school building has no downspouts in the habitat area, which is in an interior courtyard, so they thought a funnel could be used to direct rainwater into a rain barrel.

By conserving water, promoting wildlife habitat, and demonstrating an application for water harvesting, they knew their idea would improve the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and it would save the energy used to treat drinking water.

A finalist proposal in the 2014 Caring for Our Watersheds competition, their solution involved designing several possible funnels, and having one built to their specifications. They built a platform for the funnel and planted vegetation that would make the area a better nesting place. In consultation with experts from Lands & Waters and Friends of Accotink Creek, they implemented their solution with $2000 in funding from Nutrien.

CFW Project Update

In 2018, this schoolyard habitat is thriving, and has received a number of awards. The area continues to conserve water and energy by using rainwater instead of local drinking water, promote wildlife habitat through the well-established native vegetation, and is even used to inspire local educators to participate in CFW and implement solutions with their students.

Schoolyard Habitat 2018_image 1 Rain Barrel still used in 2018!

Thermal Pollution

2014 Wyoming, Ohio, USA

The Mill Creek is in the southwest corner of Ohio and empties into the Ohio River. It flows 28.4 miles through three different counties and about half a million people live within the watershed. It is mainly urban and industrial with some forested and agricultural lands located in the northern section. The Mill Creek also has many CSOs (combined sewer overflows) and SSOs (sanitary sewer overflows).

Thermal pollution is a problem in many of our urban streams, especially in the Mill Creek, that often flies under the radar. While thermal pollution doesn’t involve dumping massive amounts of chemicals into the rivers or many other signs that people generally associate with pollution, the heating and cooling of natural waterways (whether directly or indirectly caused by people) can have a bigger effect on wildlife ecosystems than people think.

Benny and Isabelle felt that they could do their part to reduce thermal pollution when it happens in a localized setting, such as when water temperature of creeks and streams rises due to lack of shading and foliage. Their solution was to plant trees along the banks of the North Branch of the Mill Creek. They felt it was an easy solution to tackle the problem of thermal pollution in local streams.

Benny and Isabelle put their project into action on May 10th, 2014. They had an excellent group of volunteers of both students and community members come out and help. Together they planted about 600 trees in about 3 hours. The areas where they planted were alongside a local stretch of the North Brach of the Mill Creek that was in need of restoration. It was a great time to be social and meet new people while helping out their watershed. Over all, they thought this was a very fun and education experience for them and they were honored to be offered such a wonderful opportunity.

Thermal Pollution

Starting a Composting System for the School Garden

2014 Antelope, California, USA

Antelope High School student Chelsea Morgan wanted to make use of the large amount of green waste produced by the school garden. In the old system, students were throwing away this green waste directly into the trash dumpster. She was concerned that the green waste in the landfill was a wasted resource and would only add to the production of excess methane. She wrote a proposal to build a compost bin for the waste, and students in the People for the Planet club helped to implement her project. When green waste in composted, it produces a very important, nutrient-rich soil additive for the garden.

The students built a wooden 3-bin compost system conveniently located adjacent to the school garden. Once the original green waste has been in the first bin for a few months, students will transfer it to the next bin for further decomposition, which will also open up space for the new green waste.

In addition to providing fertilizer for the garden and reducing the amount of waste being sent to the landfill, the compost system will be used as an educational tool for all of the Biology and Environmental Science classes at Antelope High.

Non-Native Rose Removal/Native Species Planting

2014 Antelope, California, USA

Students in Antelope High School’s People of the Planet Club helped to implement Dayna Berry’s “Removing the Thorns” proposal, which took first place at the 2013 Caring for Our Watersheds California Final Competition. This proposal was to remove existing non-native rose bushes around the school and replace them with a variety of native plants. The roses require watering and application of chemical pesticides/ fertilizers, which have the potential to run-off and pollute the surrounding creeks. In addition, these rose bushes flowered for only 2 weeks out of the year, so they were very poor plants to attract pollinators. The native plantings, adapted to the local climate, would not require long-term irrigation or pesticides and would also provide habitat and food sources for local birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.

Students worked to replace the non-native rose bushes with CA native plant species that are drought tolerant and require no additional chemical inputs. They also mulched the area to prevent evaporation and to help control weeds. At project completion, they had planted 15 Blue blossom ceanothus, 24 Provence lavender, and 20 California fuchsia, as well as adding 16 yards of mulch to the area. Nutrien implementation funds made the purchase of plants and mulch possible

The students and others on campus are pleased with the initial results as the plants are already starting to bloom. While the plants are small now, they will grow quickly to beautify the campus as well as provide many flowers for pollinators.

Garcia Bend Park/River Clean Up

2014 Sacramento, California, USA

Alexa Smith, Kieran Garcia, and Feliceya Torres wanted to help their community by holding a straightforward cleanup along the banks of the Sacramento River. They submitted a proposal explaining how excess garbage can pollute the waterways and adversely affect aquatic organisms. For the cleanup, they chose a site in their neighborhood that is used frequently for recreation, Garcia Bend Park.

Smith, Garcia, and Torres recruited additional students from their high school, The MET Sacramento, and spent a productive day on the waterfront. They collected over 15 bags of trash in just a few hours. Project funds from Nutrien helped to purchase bags, rubber gloves, a dip net, and snacks for the participants.

Vermicomposting at the MET

2014 Sacramento, California, USA

In researching ways to improve their local watershed, Molly Crofoot and Loki Spera became very interested in the concept of vermicomposting, or worm composting. Different than traditional composting, worm composting is a process that uses red earthworms to consume organic waste, producing castings, soil conditioner, and a topsoil additive. While there are other ways to break down things such as food and yard waste, vermicomposting is a lot easier for people who live/ work in a place with very little outdoor room. Their project proposal was to build a worm bin at their school, The MET Sacramento High School, and educate students on its use. Specifically, they would train members of the Garden Club, who would take over general maintenance of the bin, and use the soil created to add to the garden beds.

Vermicomposting has many benefits for the environment. The process creates a nutrient rich soil, which helps grow a healthy, sustainable garden without the need for chemical fertilizers. It also builds healthy soil structure that reduces watering needs and absorbs runoff, protecting streams from erosion and pollution. Finally, it makes use of food waste that would otherwise enter landfills. Project funds from Nutrien helped Crofoot and Spera purchase a durable, multi-level bin and host a lunch workshop for students on vermicomposting, its benefits, and how to maintain the bin.

Composting System for Valley High

2014 Elk Grove, California, USA

Members of the Valley High School Green Club were concerned about the excessive amount of recyclable and compostable material that was being thrown into their school dumpsters each day. As this landfill waste can eventually lead to water contamination and problems in the watershed, they wanted to address this issue and implement a program to collect this material and remove it from the waste stream. The compostable material would then be added to bins to produce soil for the school garden they are starting.

Since this is a large task, Green Club members also enlisted the support of the ILS and Special Education students to transport the compostable waste (food scraps and cardboard lunch trays) after each lunch period. The compostable material is taken to the garden area where students have set up 4 compost bins, purchased with Nutrien project funds. Students also gather grass clippings to add to the compost bins.

Through the process, students found that the cardboard lunch trays do not break down easily, so they purchased a chipper/shredder to shred the cardboard into fine pieces that decompose more readily. The Nutrien implementation funds also helped students purchase other tools to help maintain the compost, such as a hose to keep it moist, and shovels and gloves to turn the compost.

During this first year of the new compost system, it is estimated that over 1000 cardboard lunch trays have been composted in this manner, reducing the amount of waste sent to the landfill. The Valley High Green Club anticipates improving and expanding upon the system as they move forward.

Water Conservation Education Booth

2014 Elk Grove, California, USA

California is currently faced with a severe water shortage and extreme drought conditions. The need for water conservation is critical and water agencies are appealing to the public for help. Students in the Green Club at Valley High are concerned that students and members of their community are unaware of how serious the current predicament has become and how to address the situation with water conservation measures. Judy Phu, Asia Xiong, and Jamilah Ahmach-Antolin presented their proposal to address this situation at the 2014 Caring for Our Watershed Finals. Their solution included preparing a community outreach booth geared toward water conservation for the on-campus community health fair.

The community health fair is attended by hundreds of students from the feeder middle and elementary schools as well as other community members, providing an excellent opportunity to reach a large number of people in a short period of time. Green Club members designed a water education game (similar to Chutes and Ladders) where younger students could play and see water conservation measures in a fun-interactive way. They gathered pamphlets and information from local water agencies to give to visitors as well as secured donations of water conservation related prizes (low-flow showerheads, shower timers, toilet leak test kits, etc.) to giveaway to game winners. Booth visitors were encouraged to sign a 20% water conservation pledge. Those that signed the pledge were entered in the raffle to win larger water conservation prizes (low-flow toilet). Through their creative, educational booth, they drew attention to an important watershed issue and exposed youth and community members to ways they could make a difference.

International Rain Barrel Giveaway

image1-2 Rain barrels are designed to collect water, but one distinctive rain barrel designed by students at Daysland School in central Alberta is garnering just as much attention as it is water.

Butterflies, toads, dragonflies and other flora and fauna help depict a healthy watershed on a rain barrel designed by 20 students from grades five to 12 at Daysland School. It also helped the classroom win $1,000 through an international rain barrel giveaway and art contest sponsored by Nutrien’s Caring for our Watersheds (“CFW”) program.