(RAIN) BARRELS OF FUN

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES

Julia Breckenridge, Sarah Slabe, Olivia Core, and Jenna Murdock decided to host a workshop for families in their school to educate them on rain barrels and how they impact the community. Our primary issue addressed in their workshop was the lack of knowledge in their school community about runoff and a potential solution – rain barrels. In the suburban areas that they live in, runoff is a large issue due to impermeable surfaces such as roads, building roofs, and blacktop and is visible to anyone after it rains as it can cause urban flooding and back-up of the sewers.
Barrel

They held a two hour rain barrel workshop on April 9th at their school in which over 50 people attended. During the workshop, they invited three professionals to come speak on the runoff issues the city has and different solutions homeowners can implement, such as rain barrels. They taught participants how to construct a rain barrel properly and reminded them of the positive impact they are making on the environment. Ten families were able to actually take home a rain barrel and all the supplies necessary to assemble and connect it to their gutter.

This project started out as a relatively small-scale project, focusing only on the ten families that sign up for the workshop. However, over 50 people ended up attending (only ten families were able to take home a rain barrel). Therefore, not only did our project help our school community by being more aware about the issues occurring in our watershed, but it also helped each of the communities that the ten families live in. By informing the student body and families of the environmental issue of run off, more residents in the Mill Creek watershed will be aware and act to help improve this problem.

BE IDLE FREE

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Idle Free
Chris Murtaugh, Bella Saba, and Kiernan Cinque thought of the idling problem in their school community when presented with the Caring For Our Watersheds competition. They saw that some people do not realize when they are idling, consequently harming the environment, the people around them, and even their wallets. Anytime an engine is running, a car releases exhaust that contains harmful particulates and greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. When released, these particulates can simultaneously put people at risk of various health issues including asthma, heart disease, and cancer. Idling additionally hurts your wallets.

Unfortunately, in their school’s community idling is extremely prevalent. They have 3 school carlines where parents will show up as early as 2 PM to pick up their kids despite school being dismissed at 3:15 PM. This means cars will be idling for over an hour. Their solution to this problem in their community was to post 6 “no idling” signs around the campus to help diminish the harmful environmental and health effects of idling. Additionally, they posted an excerpt to their school’s weekly newsletter, informing the community of the traffic and environmental changes on campus.

Through these signs and the continued circulation of the newsletter, they hope to limit and eventually eradicate the idling problem on their campus. Through their campaign they not only helped to prevent idling, but also spread awareness about air pollution, their watershed, and environmental sustainability as a whole. Ultimately they felt that creating a more cognizant and responsible community was their greatest achievement throughout the entirety of the project because of its impact on the lives of future generations.

WHEAT STRAW PLATES

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES

Straw Wheat Plates

Clare Hall saw that a product that is harming the environment today is Styrofoam. Contrary to popular belief, Styrofoam is not recyclable. It takes up to one million years to fully decompose and around 57 chemical byproducts are released during the production. Styrofoam is resistant to photosynthesis, which is the ability to break down materials by photons originating from light. On top of this, the products often wash up along coastline and waterways around the world because it floats. Reducing the amount of Styrofoam used can help cities all over, and she saw the chance to create change at Mount Notre Dame High School.

Straw Wheat Plates

Through the help of World Centric Wheat Straw Plates by Earth’s Natural Alternative, the amount of Styrofoam plates used at her school was reduced tremendously. By starting movements through the Cincinnati Caring for Our Watersheds Contest, over 700 Styrofoam plates were saved from going into a landfill, and practical information about pollution was spread. Switching to alternative products to avoid Styrofoam pollution can not only physically help the environment, but could also help spread awareness. With the society we have today, word travels fast so educating others on the topic of Styrofoam could make a difference around this world.

Legacy Story – Ivonne Morales

From program participant to CFW’s Colorado Coordinator! Learn how Caring for Our Watersheds has left a lasting legacy for Ivonne.

Pilot Mound Rain Gardens

2019, Pilot Mound, Manitoba, Canada

Colin Hildebrand, Joryn Buchanan, Donovan Kimball, and Riley Kimball are all students at Pilot Mound Collegiate in Pilot Mound, MB. When they were posed with the question of what they could do to improve their watershed, their thoughts took them outside to their schoolyard.

“Our problem lies in the excess water that our school ground produces and contends with… So how do we help manage excess water and potential pollutants?”

In speaking with the school’s custodian, they were able to see where drainage water flowed, accumulated, and moved across the school property. They realized that this runoff water could be picking up contaminants and sending them into local waterways and could also be contributing to flooding issues in their area. They approached their local conservation district (CD), the Pembina Valley CD, to discuss ways to mitigate these issues. Together, they came up with the idea of rain gardens along the natural swale running through the school yard to filter runoff, increase water infiltration, and reduce pollutants entering nearby waterways.

“We [will] create three rain gardens [along the existing swale]… The rain gardens will slow the water using berms, and the native plants will create more infiltration into the soil due to their large root systems.”

Cache In, Trash Out

2019, Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada

Mason Cameron and Tia Erickson are students at École Edward Schreyer in Beausejour, MB. Their plan to help their watershed was a “Cache In, Trash Out” event. They were able to spread awareness for their event within the geocaching community, and the turnout was great! One of the community members who attended the event said,

“We are so glad we made it to this incredibly well-organized event. The games were really fun!”

By using entertainment and a unique method of education delivery, people were able to enjoy learning about their watershed, cleaning their community, and other things that they can do to help every day!

Seed Bombs for Students

2019, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Holly & Tori, students at Henry G. Izatt (HGI) Middle School in Winnipeg, MB, were concerned about plant diversity, invasive species, and bee populations. They came up with a plan to address all three issues: seed bombs! Their plan includes educating young students at an elementary school before they enter HGI by providing them with seed bombs and a little workshop on how to plant them and what the benefits are.

“This is important for our community because our school has recently placed beehives on the school roof. We are worried that the bees will not have enough pollen to support the ecosystem and their hive. Bees are important to our watershed because they pollinate plants and crops… Planting wildflowers around the community will provide food for the bees to help grow our bee population and raise awareness.”

Biodegradable Sunscreen

2019, Shoal Lake, Manitoba, Canada

Manitoba Biodegradable Sunscreen Implementation

Bailey Ostash and Nadia Nickel are students at Shoal Lake School in Shoal Lake, Manitoba. Living in the Lake Winnipeg Watershed, they became worried about the algal blooms appearing on lakes in the area.

“On a hot sunny day, you are going to the beach. What’s one of the first things you do? Most people, as soon as they get to the beach, put on sunscreen. Then, they go into the water… One of our main concerns is that sunscreen [can be] full of many harmful chemicals that harm our watershed.”

Their solution was to create their own homemade, natural, biodegradable sunscreen. They will educate students in their school and people in their community on ways that they can reduce their impacts on their watershed with simple solutions like eco-friendly sunscreen. They plan to set up at local farmer’s markets and craft shows to spread their message and their product.

“It has been such a rewarding project. [Bailey & Nadia have] inspired me to learn more and get more involved with other groups and activities.” – Benita Shwaluk, Teacher, Shoal Lake School

Cigarette Butt Disposal

2019, The Pas, Manitoba, Canada

Margaret Barbour Collegiate students Blaze Head & Christian Tilling wanted to make their school yard a cleaner place. They looked at the trash on the school property and noticed that, much like many places, the majority of the trash was comprised of cigarette butts. They decided they wanted to do something about it, so they came up with a plan to reduce the amount of cigarette butt waste they were seeing by having a disposal container installed.

“This project will help our environment by reducing the cigarettes and chemicals going into our watershed and contaminating our rivers and ground water.”

A Toothbrush’s Journey

You may not know this, but plastic toothbrushes create major toothaches for our environment.

When student Jenn Fossay from Warren Collegiate in Warren, Manitoba, learnt that plastic toothbrushes take over 400 years to decompose, she knew that she had to come up with a solution.

To raise awareness about the negative effects of plastic toothbrushes on the environment, Jenn wrote and illustrated a children’s book to educate the next generation. The book takes readers through the life-cycle of a toothbrush lost down the storm drain. Once the toothbrush makes its way into the environment, it begins negatively impacting the lives of marine animals. Continue reading…