SAVING SAINT CLARE STREAM

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Stream
Abby Shores noticed a problem with a local stream in her community. The stream, which she calls St. Clare stream, runs through a three by one half block wooded area behind her house. It eventually connects to the Mill Creek. This area is owned by a local convent and includes a five-foot City of Wyoming easement. Unfortunately, it had been neglected due to its small size and isolated location. This lack of caring led it to be abused by illegal dumping, littering, and general misuse.

Abby created an immediate solution to turn the area from an abandoned dump to a community greenspace. She collaborated with local officials at the City of Wyoming to install a trash can on their portion of the property. This trash can not only prevented litter, but served as a symbol of her community and city’s commitment to the area. Because of her hard work the trash can has been put on the city’s weekly pickup route. She estimates the trash can will reduce litter by up to 56%.
Stream

The second part of her project was designing a cleanup day of the stream. This promoted community outreach and a greater unity among neighbors. She went door to door mobilizing volunteers and utilized social media to spread the word. During the cleanup day they removed almost 300lb of waste from the stream. This included everything from aluminum cans to iron construction beams. She hopes this cleanup day inspired others to hold events in the area. It showed how greater use of a space promotes long term environmental sustainability. Even though the stream is small, its revitalization served as an example to other municipalities.

RETHINK RECYCLING

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES

Trisha Leyda, Megan Glass, Ally Zwelling, and Isabella Richardson realized that improper recycling habits, especially in public places, is a problem. They came up with a solution to create signs that are easily understood and catered towards the location they are placed in in order to educate the community. Their high school, Ursuline Academy, had tried to improve recycling while at school, but the system was flawed. The paper recycling bins were old crates and paper would often fall from the holes. The signs were difficult to understand because they used only words. People would not follow the signs and then non-recyclable items would end up in the bins contaminating the recyclable items. There was a lack of consistency and communication throughout the school about recycling.

The solution to this issue was to educate the community through a competition and revamping of the recycling system at Ursuline. This began as a two part process, with old crates being replaced with new blue recycling bins, then informative signs being attached to clarify what was and was not recyclable. Previously, there were four bins that were for bottle recycling, but did not have lids. New lids were purchased and placed on these bins so that people would know it was just bottle recycling without looking at the signs. Each grade was assigned their own bottle recycling bin in the cafeteria and their goal was to have the highest proportion of properly recycled items to win a baked good party.

The community responded very well to the signs and bins. Many teachers were excited to get rid of the old crates and have a more concise recycling sign on the bin. The recycling was already improving before the competition began because of the new signs. By the time the competition began, there was already a positive response. The goal of educating the community was a success because everyone learned to improve their recycling skills. At the end of the competition, Ursuline’s Earth Action Team was invited to continue the competition each year and teach incoming freshman about recycling at school. This project helped and will continue to help the watershed. It reduces the amount of waste through recycling at Ursuline and the larger community.

(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