Ducks Unlimited Bake Sale

2016, Bashaw, Alberta, Canada

Bailie McDonald in Bashaw wanted to Ducks Unlimited Bake sale Bailie with baked goods student action projects help protect her watershed by protecting wetlands. She learned that wetlands are important habitat for lots of animals, help improve water quality, and help store water for dry times.

Bailie wasn’t sure how she could protect a wetland, but knew that Ducks Unlimited did lots of great work in her area, including a site called the Pileated Project near her home.

After discussing her desire to help protect wetlands with her family, Bailie decided that one thing she could do was to bake some yummy treats and host a bake sale at her school. The money she raised could then be donated to Ducks Unlimited to help with their Pileated Project.

The bake sale raised $200 which was then matched with the Caring for our Watersheds implementation funding. She presented the $400 cheque to Ducks Unlimited staff and volunteers at a local event.

This project proves that no matter a person’s background skills, they are able to help improve their watershed!

Down Cycle

2016, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

Emily Jackson from Wetaskiwin, Alberta decided that she could help improve the watershed by
reducing the amount of disposable water bottles used at her school.

Her Caring for our Watersheds project involved installing a water-bottle fill-up station in the main foyer of the Wetaskiwin Composite Highschool. Not only that, but she worked with the student council to sell reusable water bottles and post information about reducing waste and the benefits of reusable bottles next to the station.

Emily is happy to leave this legacy of down cycling at her school as she heads off to university.

“Down Cycling”, which is to use less, is even better then recycling, which still uses a lot of energy and resources.

Accommodating Biodiversity in Our Watershed

2016, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

2016 marked the third time Simran Panesar had entererd into the Caring for our accommodating biodiversity student planting central alberta Watersheds program, and the third time she was in the final competition.

Building on projects she had done in the past, in 2016 Simran wanted to incorporate tree planting and improving biodiversity at her new school, W.P. Wagner.

Her project was two parts, planting trees and putting up bird houses in the schools yard, which is part of the Mill Creek watershed.

To get help with the tree planting, Simran invited grade 6 students (who learn about trees and forests in their science curriculum) from her old school, A. Blair McPherson. The class was treated to a full day of activities including a pizza lunch, a leaf based art project, playing a biodiversity game, and finally, participating in planting trees.

The community organization Roots for Trees helped source the 45 trees, brought the equipment, and helped teach the students how to plant. The trees were a mix of native trees including Saskatoon, Lodgepole Pine, and Red Osier dogwood.
The bird houses have also been installed and are bringing more biodiversity to the school.

Save The Trees, Use The Trees

2016 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The 2016 first place winners in Southern Alberta’s Caring For Our Watersheds competition were Centennial High School students Kaylee Nishizawa, Rebecca McCollister and Nicole Stringham, with their project “Save The Trees, Use The Trees”

These students were concerned about water conservation and the use of herbicides and pesticides in their community. When researching these issues, the students became interested in the use of mulch on gardens and flowerbeds. Mulch helps inhibit weed growth, retain soil moisture and prevents frost heaving and soil temperature fluctuations. Armed with information on the benefits of using mulch, the students organized a “Community Mulch Day”, where residents could come to the local community centre between 10:00 and 2:00 to pick up free mulch to use on their gardens and flowerbeds.

To encourage people within their community to take advantage of the fee mulch, the students distributed thousands of flyers to residents in their South Calgary community, informing them of the event and of the benefits of using mulch in their yards.

The “Community Mulch Day” was a huge success! Hundreds of citizens came to the Mid Sun Community Centre to pick up free mulch, provided by The City of Calgary. The students were there to provide information on the benefits of using mulch, and to help people load the mulch into their vehicles.

This project was made possible by a number of sponsors, including: Caring for Our Watersheds, The City of Calgary Parks, Greengate Garden Centers, atr and the Mid-Sun Community Association.

Alpha Charter Edible Campus and Keyhole Garden

2016, Elverta, California, USA

Students at Alpha Charter in Elverta were looking for a way to care for their watershed while also
beautifying their school’s campus and adding to the resources in the school’s new Farm to Fork/Garden Arts program. Their proposal included the planting of fruit and shade trees on campus, installing water efficient drip irrigation, and building planter beds, including a “keyhole” teaching garden, which employs interesting alternative techniques to improve soil nutrient level while using less water. Their project will not only benefit the environment, but also serve as an outdoor hands-on learning area for students in the school for years to come.

Tree Planting at Lubin Elementary

2016, Sacramento, California, USA

Sandra Longfellow, a student at the MET Sacramento High School, has a special connection to
nearby David Lubin elementary school. First, through a program at The MET, she was placed in long-term internship at the elementary school. Second, David Lubin is her alma mater. When she found out about Caring for Our Watersheds, she knew this was a great opportunity to contribute to and improve the school’s campus she knows so well. After a recent removal of a hazard tree in the kindergarten yard, Sandra noticed a huge area left with bare soil directly adjacent to the storm drain. She met with the kindergarten teachers and PTG members to discuss plans for planting a Tree Planting Caring for Our watershed implementation dirty hands new tree in the area, protecting it with a planter wall, and reseeding the remaining bare areas. The plantings would stabilize the bare soil and reduce sediment delivery to nearby waterways. Of course, the tree planting would also provide shade to the kids playing in the yard at recess and outdoor learning activities. Sandra organized special teams of kindergartners and their 6^th grade “buddies” to help with site preparation and planting. After the planting, she organized “work parties” with school parents to build the planter wall and finish the remaining work. Nutrien project funding helped to buy supplies, soil, plants, and seeds for the project, which will benefit both the environment and the school community for generations to come.

St. James Outdoor Classroom

2016, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In 2016, Melanie McCready and Emme Larkins of St. James School in Calgary, AB placed second St. James Outdoor Classroom Student implementation project in the 2016 CFOW contest, with their project “St. James Outdoor Classroom”.

While working with the school Ecoclub, Melanie and Emme realized that there were very few places for students to connect with nature and for teachers to provide learning opportunities in an outdoor environment. In an effort to solve this issue and help the watershed at the same time, Melanie and Emme worked with the Ecoclub to design an outdoor learning space. This learning space includes native plants trees and shrubs. Not only do these plants increase biodiversity in our watershed, they are also essential to many pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds and birds.

St. James Outdoor Classroom Student implementation project There have been picnic tables, garbage cans and recycling bins installed in the natural learning area, with plans to expand and continue to develop the area with additional natural features in the future. Research has shown that teaching outdoors makes educators more confident and enthusiastic about their work, and more innovative in their teaching strategies. By extension, schools benefit from the leadership and influence of their teachers who take students outside. Studies indicate that students that are given the opportunity to learn in a natural setting often score higher on tests, experience less anxiety and have more confidence.

As the St. James Outdoor Classroom continues to evolve, students will share watershed information with their peers and educate them as to the benefits of learning in nature and natural spaces in an urban environment.

Microplastics Exchange

2016, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In 2017, Madeline Yeomans of Dr. E.P. Scarlett School in Calgary implemented her project southern alberta microplastics exchange student implementation “Microplastics, Macroproblem”. Madeline was concerned about the amount of microbeads and microplastics in consumer products and the impact this is having on our watershed.

In an effort to combat this issue, Madeline held a “Microplastics Exchange” and information session at her school. Madeline advertised this event through her school to inform fellow students and teachers that the exchange would be taking place. For a one week period, students were encouraged to bring in products containing microbeads to exchange them for microbead-free products and receive education regarding the harmful effect of microbeads on the local watershed.

Microbeads are commonly used as exfoliants in facial cleansers and other skin products, yet these minute pieces of plastic do not dissolve in the watershed. These beads move through waste water filtration systems and are ingested by a number of marine organisms.

The Microplastics Exchange event at Dr. E.P. Scarlett School was a huge success and more than one hundred products containing microbeads were exchanged for eco-friendly equivalents.

Peace and Plenty Garden

2016, Bruxelles, Manitoba, Canada

Manon Ketsman from Nelly McClung Collegiate wanted to help with the restoration of a local community park.

“Bruxelles sits within the Pembina Valley Conservation District and is also within the Cypress River Watershed, which drains into the Assiniboine River. The region around Bruxelles is considered to Peace and Plenty Garden group photo student implementation have poor agricultural capabilities and much of the Southern portion of the Cypress River Watershed is considered moderately to severely at risk of soil and bank erosion.

The Peace and Plenty Garden will be a welcome addition and after much discussion it was decided that a water catchment would be a great addition to the park as it would add a learning area for students and it would be beneficial towards their education. This water catchment will teach the students about water conservation and how important water actually is as a resource when it comes to agriculture. They will use the water collected in the catchment to water the butterfly gardens as well as their vegetable gardens.”

No Fly Zone

2016, Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada

Taylor Bean was concerned with the amount of insecticides Farms were using to control fly populations. She knew there were more environmentally sustainable options available.

“Insecticides have shown to disrupt the balance of the ecosystem and many cannot be broken down by an organism’s body resulting in bioaccumulation”

With a three-pronged approach of fans, ecofriendly spray and fly sheets for the horses, she felt the need for insecticides would be removed.

To involve the community, Taylor purchased horse blankets that she would loan to other farmers to try them out in hopes they would switch over to this method.

“These blankets have helped so much in reducing the horses being irritated by the flies. The use of insecticides (fly spray) by horse owners is drastically reduced therefore reducing the effects on our watershed. The horses and the owners are much happier with the changes that the Caring For Our Watersheds project has allowed me to implement.”