USA

Tree Planting Project

2012 Arlington, Virginia, USA

Sixth graders at Kenmore Middle School noticed that the impervious surfaces of the built urban environment – roads, buildings, etc – cause increased storm-water run-off that local streams, including Four Mile Run. They decided they should address the problem by planting more trees to intercept rainfall and reduce run-off. Coordinating with Arlington County’s Landscape Ecologist, they arranged to plant trees, provided by the county, in Bluemont Park near the school campus.

Motor Oil Recycling for the Community (MORC)

2012 Washington, DC, USA

Following on the Roots Public Charter School’s 2011 Caring for Our Watersheds effort and proposal entry, students of the MORC (Motor Oil Recycling for the Community) project worked to raise community awareness of where and how to recycle used motor oil. They determined the neighborhood locations for motor oil recycling, and produced signs to let the community know where those locations are.

At the school’s Family Fun Day on June 9, students hosted a MORC activity booth to inform people of the closest recycling location to their home (since they had found that not all service stations in the area recycle oil as they out). At the Caring for Our Watersheds finals on June 4, the MORC project won 1st place, with a spirited presentation that included a mock newscast.

Solar Power Energy

2012 Greeley, Colorado, USA

Katie Ainslie at Greeley High School placed 1^st in 2012.

The aim for her solution of using solar powered energy is to decrease and eventually diminish the use of coal powered energy leaving our watershed free of pollutants. Starting by lowering the demand for these fossil fuels in Greeley schools, Katie wanted to cause a ripple effect throughout the Cache La Poudre Watershed.

Two major benefits come from this alternative energy resource. First, the school will save a substantial amount on their energy bill. More importantly, they are protecting their local watershed from harmful emissions caused by coal power, thus saving a limited resource and producing cleaner energy.

With the demand for a renewable and sustainable energy source, solar energy has become a great resource that is not only available to Katie’s school but to all schools in our watershed.

This project started out as a no-cost project for the school district, but they have agreed to make this a pilot study for a possible city wide solar garden. The solar panels are leased rather than owned, and installation and maintenance will be completed by a solar company.

Negotiations are proceeding with several Colorado solar firms for panel construction at the Poudre Learning Center. Installation could not happen at Central High School so the PLC was suggested as a second site. School District 6 will help cover a portion of the construction cost.

The schedule for installation of the panels will be in 2013 when the local electric power company, Excel is able to finance a rebate for a portion of the solar panels to meet their solar energy requirement. When the solar panels are installed they will be put on a 20 year Power Purchase Agreement which will buy energy from the solar company’s panels at the PLC. The energy purchased will be 15- 25% less than our current energy bill.

Katie says, ” I really appreciate working with my mentor, Kim Frick, the PLC and CFW staffs, along with the incredible support (over $2,000) from Nutrien to make this solution a reality.”

Native Plant Pollinator Garden

2012 Davis, California, USA

Da Vinci High School students Brenna Mockler, Nathan Lefkoff, Juliana Arvin, and Innis McComb placed 4th in the 2012 Caring for Our Watersheds contest for their idea to plant a native pollinator garden on their school campus. Their garden will serve to increase plant diversity on campus, provide habitat and nectar sources for pollinators, as well as create a space where students can learn about California native plants. In their proposal, they also pointed out that by planting native drought-resistant species, they will help to conserve water, support insect and butterfly populations, and beautify their campus. The garden will also be incorporated into the Botany class curriculum at school. This hands-on project has already deepened their knowledge of native plants and pollinator conservation. They hope it will continue to have the same effect on students at Da Vinci in years to come.

Soil Microbial Health – The Affect of Soil Amendments on Soil Respiration

2012 Loveland, Colorado, USA

Benjamin Hoyer from Resurrection Christian High School explains that Aldo Leopold said in Sand County Almanac: “What conservation education must build is an ethical underpinning for land economics and a universal curiosity to understand the land mechanism.” Hoyer’s solution was to develop a soils lab module which allows students to connect to their land and water and to further student conservation education. The lab module includes information on soil characteristics, a soils analysis lab, and age appropriate supplemental readings.

“By developing and distributing this lab module students will have the opportunity to become stewards, engaging as citizens in their watershed and building an understanding for their soil.”
-Ben Hoyer

The student module and materials were completed and delivered to the Poudre Learning Center (PLC) for teachers to use during the school school year. The PLC staff said that they had over 14,000 students visit them last year. Hoyer’s hope is that the teachers will consider using the module with their students.

Waste Not, Wash a Lot

2012 Greeley, Colorado, USA

Amanda Cary, Anna Harkabus, and Alexis Gerk Cindy Keesis, AP Environmental Science Instructor MaryAnn Murphy, Mentor, Poudre Learning Center.

Their solution to the huge Styrofoam problem is to replace the toxic Styrofoam plates that are used at the school each day for lunch with plastic trays that can be used over and over again. The reusable plates will be washed each day in a sanitation system already located in the school’s kitchen. Although additional water use is necessary for the implementation of the project, such adverse environmental impact is minor compared to the effects of polystyrene plates.

Helmut Sihler once said that, “The environment is too important to be left to the environmentalists.”

“We are excited that each and every student at Northridge will be able to take a step toward protecting our watershed.” States Lexi Gerk.

Working the Nutrition Leaders in the cafeteria, the students’ ordered 500 reusable trays. They also ordered tray racks to hold the trays in the washing process.

The total cost of the implementation is $3236.32 to purchase the trays and the racks. Thank you to Nutrien and the school district for helping fund this project.

Waste Wise

2012 Greeley, Colorado, USA

Lila Dong and Faith Sears, sophomores, won eighth place in 2012 Caring for our Watersheds (CFW) Colorado competition finals. Afterwards, Nutrien donated $1,000 to implement their idea.

Dong and Sears had the idea to implement a composting program at their high school. Although the original proposal had to be altered before the finals, the idea re-implemented a program in the high school that had previously been benefiting the environment and community through food waste recycling. The original program had to be cancelled when the composting company closed. In time for the CFW finals, Dong and Sears had already made contact with a long established composting company, and secured support from the school administration and student body for the composting program.

Dong and Sears is working with A1 Organics, a well-established composting company in Colorado along with Nutrien and its’ community partners.

A1 Organics has provided a composting bin for Union Colony Schools, in which middle and high schoolers will recycle their food waste. Biweekly, the company will pick up the compost. This program will be in place for the entirety of the 2012-2013 school year. It will be completed in May 2013; however, through the terra-cycling program at Union Colony, it is hopeful that the composting program will continue to have funding for the following years.

Dong has commented on the project, “Composting allows us to use specific things such as food that will help the watershed and even nature by giving nutrients for plants instead of just wasting it by throwing it away in the trash.”

Hand Sanitizer and our Watershed

2012 Greeley, Colorado, USA

The students’ originally proposed to replace the soap dispensers in every bathroom with a dispenser of hand sanitizer, which would save time, trees, and reduce water consumption. By using hand sanitizer the students at the school would be saving paper towels, soap, and money. During the implementation of the proposal the students’ discovered recent research that suggests that the manufacturers of hand sanitizers claim that the sanitizers kill 99.9 percent of germs and this may not actually be the case. The students’ also found that the Food and Drug Administration recommends that hand sanitizers not be used in place of soap and water but only as an adjunct. It also recommends that to properly sanitize the hands, soap and water should be used; a hand sanitizer cannot and should not take the place of proper cleansing procedures with soap and water.

Based on their research, the students’ changed their search to finding a hospital-grade hand sanitizer that is triclosan-free (which has been found to alter hormone regulation in lab animals or cause antibiotic resistance). So, instead of replacing soap in the restrooms they are now placing the triclosan-free, hospital-grade hand sanitizer in the cafeteria at the head of the food line. At that point students will be able to enter the food area with germ-free hands. This means that the installed bio-based hand sanitizer will contribute not only to a cleaner and more economical school site, but also a more environmentally safe school for our students. Thanks to Nutrien for their donation of $698.00 to implement our solution.

“By keeping the chemicals out of our watershed we not only help our own area but all of those downstream of us.” Mayra & Sam

Rooftop Gardens

2012 Berthoud, Colorado, USA

Alex Liebman is a senior at Berthoud High School. She placed 4th at the Northern Colorado watershed contest with her project to implement rooftop gardens on the schools in the Northern Colorado area. The gardens will serve as insulation for the school, reduce water runoff that could potentially be polluted, lower erosion levels, and provide a learning experience for students at the schools.

rooftop-2 The garden consists of a square foot section of the roof that is covered with plants that will greatly benefit from the rain water that would otherwise be directed into the gutters, and sent into the school parking lots where the water will mix with possible toxins that could potentially be harmful to the watershed. Berthoud High School will serve as the pilot project.

Green Roofs of Colorado, LLC the company that installed the rooftop garden on top of the EPA building in Denver, Colorado, (photo to the right) will use Berthoud as a referral to have additional schools in the area also install a green roof.

“I am extremely thankful to Nutrien for their donation of $1,008.60 to implement the project from the estimated cost budget.” Says Alex.

Escape To The World Of Xeriscape

2012 Greeley, Colorado, USA

Josh Croft & Stephanie Lopez, Northridge High School, xeriscaping project started out as four pieces of land located in their school’s front parking lot, but because of a new set of greenhouses installed on the east side of the building, the project was relocated.

Croft & Lopez completed most of the planning, landscape design and budgeting during the spring of the year. Ruth Quade, Water Resource Specialist with the City of Greeley, continued to mentor the team through the selection of the type of plants, planting arrangement and purchasing locations.

Removal of the existing plants was delayed throughout the summer. Both students graduated in the spring and headed off to college but before packing their bags, they passed off the 2nd place proposal to the Northridge Horticulture students in order to achieve full implementation. The Horticulture students contacted Eaton Grove Nursery to purchase the selected xeric plants. The low-water landscaping has been installed in front of the newly constructed greenhouses and will be part of the entry way to plant growing spaces. Future plans include placement of signage by the club to identify the plants, water saving advantages and to help inform others how this idea really works.

The Northridge Grizzles appreciate the support from Nutrien to bring the contest to Colorado and the donation of $1000 to implement this solution at our school.