Save the Bees

2015 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The 2015 first place winner in Southern Alberta’s Caring For Our Watersheds competition were Vicky Brandt, Rebecca Kroeker and Jaime Grassmick from Centennial High School, with their project “Save The Bees”.

These students were concerned about the decline of pollinators in our watershed, and the impact fewer pollinators may have on the native flora contained in the Bow River watershed. Passionate about educating their community, these students designed a brochure outlining why pollinator populations are in decline, why pollinators are important, and ways in which people can encourage pollinators in their yards (plant bee-friendly flowers, make a DIY bee bath etc.). To encourage people within their community to plant bee-friendly flowers, students provided free packs of native wildflower seeds (coneflower, lupine and gaillardia) with the educational brochures and passed them out in schools, garden centers and to their community at large.

Not only did these students teach members of their community about the local watershed and the importance of pollinators, they were able to educate students and teachers within Centennial High School about environmental stewardship and healthy watersheds.

Through this educational initiative, Vicky, Rebecca and Jaime passed out hundreds of brochures and native wildflower seed packs, informing people about the importance of pollinators and encouraging people to make their yards “pollinator-friendly”.

Leaving a Legacy

Wetlands are among the most biologically diverse, productive, and important life support systems on earth. They are integral to the functioning of important ecosystems and species and they provide us all with a wide range of benefits—from flood control and water supply to recreational activities. When these benefits aren’t recognized or valued, we may lose these valuable resources and the benefits they provide are either costly or impossible to replace.

A wetland is “land that is saturated with water long enough to promote wetland or aquatic processes as indicated by poorly drained soils, hydrophytic (water-loving) vegetation, and various kinds of biological activity which are adapted to a wet environment.”
(National Wetlands Working Group, 1988)

Recognizing an opportunity to support wetlands conservation efforts, Nutrien partnered with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) to purchase wetlands in need of protection and restoration efforts.* By pledging US$1 million to DUC Nutrien established the Legacy Wetland Restoration Program, ($250 thousand over four years) these funds are used to purchase habitat in DUC’s waterfowl target areas across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The wetlands and nearby uplands are restored, and a conservation easement is placed on the habitat to protect it forever. (Conservation easements stay with the land, regardless of who owns it.)

These projects (two in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan) were selected based on their high biological function—a combination of wetlands and pasture, forage or other lands where birds and animals have habitat. They are also in target areas previously identified by DUC as areas needing wetland restoration. In general, these are areas that have most likely been drained or cleared but which are also not suited for cropland use, pasture or forage production.

This program’s current projects are areas of high value for the northern pintail duck, a waterfowl species of concern according to DUC. Recognized by its slender build, elegant neck and elongated, spiky central tail feathers, the northern pintail is also able to achieve great speeds while flying, earning the species the nickname ‘greyhound of the air’. Source: www.ducks.ca

The key to wetland restoration is reestablishing the area’s original hydrology and topography, and restoring natural processes including the original native plant cover. For the projects currently underway, DUC conservation specialists and third party contractors will be restoring wetlands that have been drained with ditches. To reverse the harmful effect of the ditch, earthen plugs are pushed into the ditch at its lowest points, stopping drainage and backing up the water flow. On average, up to 20 staff days are required for land acquisition, restoration and perimeter fencing installation.

When the time comes, an online auction, open to all bidders, is held to resell the land. Local advertisers are engaged to ensure a broad level of awareness of the sale. This publicity is also an important way for DUC to communicate that new conservation easements placed upon the property. It is important for any potential buyers to know that they will be required to maintain the status quo of the land state at the time of purchase, and, for example, they cannot drain wetlands or clear any upland areas.

It takes approximately 3 to 4 years for a project to progress through this program – from the initial purchase to the restoration, to the placement of easement and the eventual resale. Revenues from the sale of the land will be reinvested into a new purchase and the entire process will begin again – creating a legacy of wetland restoration projects.

Water Conservation Education

2015 Sacramento, California, USA

As California is in its fourth year of drought, Jack Gumbiner and Sebastian Simmons of The MET Sacramento High School, wanted to increase awareness of the situation among their peers. While their fellow students had no doubt heard about the drought in the media, they did not seem to be taking any or enough action to conserve water. Jack and Sebastian wanted to not only educate students on the severity of the current situation, but also to provide easy ways the students could conserve water. They felt that hearing it from students their own age may have a different effect, and may inspire some teens to make simple changes to their daily lives. With project funds from Caring for Our Watersheds, Jack and Sebastian put together a water conservation lesson that included a fun interactive demonstration of water saving showerheads. They also designed and printed posters to hang at school and magnets to distribute to students and staff.

Biocap

2015, Carmen de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Biocap is designed to provide a solution to the environmental problem of disposing household oils. The project creates a primary collecting center for used vegetable oils. The school also has an agreement with a company that is authorized to process the used oil into biodiesel. The school receives a large barrel for used vegetable oil from the company, and the household containers are emptied using a system designed and created by the students themselves.

In the near future, the students hope to encourage others in the community to create primary collecting centers as well.

Lichens

2015, San Andres de Giles, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The focus of this project is to analyze the population of lichens found in trees within different areas of San Antonio de Giles town. The study of these lichens is important because they can be indicators of the quality of the air we are breathing. In order to define a parameter, the students plan to analyze the presence, or absence, of lichens in different parts of town. They also proposed an investigation on the density of the population of lichens and the analysis of the different types of lichens found. This analysis takes into account their color, appearance and the lichen’s grouping/type (foliose, fruticose, crustose). By analyzing the lichens the students are able to check and/or refute their hypothesis about the feasibility of solely using this method to monitor the quality of the air we breathe.

Parks for Native Biodiversity

2015, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project aims to create a place that will focus on increasing the community’s biodiversity. The goal is to reap the environmental benefits that emerge from creating a park of native vegetation at the town’s old railroad station. This will hopefully also entice tourists to visit the town because of the value created by enhancing the local nature of their flora and fauna.

With the help of the specialist in native flora Dr. Gabriel Burgueño, the students prepared and presented a draft to the Municipality of San Andres de Giles to manage the permits with the Railway authorities.

Currently, they are waiting final approval to continue working.

Southside Park Cleanup

2015 Sacramento, California, USA Students Cleaning Southside Park in Sacramento, Califormia

After Alexa Smith and Feliceya Torres coordinated a successful cleanup of riverfront Garcia Bend Park last year, they were inspired to continue the good work of watersheds stewardship. This year, the pair of MET Sacramento students submitted another proposal focused on Southside Park, which is adjacent to their high school.

While Southside Park is not directly on the Sacramento River, water moving over the land area enters several storm drains that run directly to the river. There is also a sizeable pond in the park, which provides habitat to resident ducks and geese. A clean up here would not only benefit the park aesthetically, but would also reduce the amount of debris entering storm drains, and thus river. This could also alleviate clogging of these drains during storm events, and local flooding. In addition, a cleanup would reduce waste entering the pond and affecting the aquatic habitat there.

As last year, they recruited several volunteers from their high school for the cleanup event completed in May of 2015. Project funds from Caring for Our Watersheds helped the students buy basic supplies for the event, including bags, rubber gloves, trash pick-up tools, water, and snacks for participants.

Nature’s Voice

2015, San Andres de Giles, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The students of this high school run their own radio show. Their project is to create a radio program to promote local birds and trees to the community, something they consider in need of better care.

Patricia Laffrati, a sustainable journalist, assisted in the implementation of the project by giving a workshop to the students about radio programming and digital media. In the workshop they learnt how to create and program materials for the school.

One highlight of this project for the students is that it is applicable to all school curriculum disciplines, meaning everyone can get involved. It not only educates the community on the
importance of the diversity of its flora and fauna, but the students learn more through these hands on, engaging experiences.

Guardians of Nature

2015, Carmen de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project addresses the problem of how empty plastic bottles (PET) are currently handled in Carmen de Areco. The first stage of this project is to set up a collection center at the school, where community members can take their empty plastic bottles. The school will provide a place to collect, press and package these disposable bottles before delivering them to a recycling center.

Once the first stage of the project is established, the second stage of the project will begin. The students plan to extend the collecting center to other schools within the area.

The money gathered from selling the collected bottles to the recycling centers will be used to continue improving and sustaining the permanent operation of this system within the school(s).

Wetland Creation

2014/2015 Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

Dean Mulroy and his team of fellow students proposed a very ambitious wetland creation project in Gimli, Manitoba. They wanted to expand an existing creek running along the school property into a larger wetland.

“The Willow Creek watershed, which is our area’s closest section, is along the western coast of Lake Winnipeg, also known as the Interlake region. It contains the rural parts of Armstrong municipalities, Gimli, Rockwood, St. Andrews, and all of the surrounding cottage country. This watershed’s drainage is roughly 1,210 square kilometers and contains roughly 620 km of ordered drains with two lake complexes”

They knew the natural filtering process would improve the health of the watershed as a whole. As well, they wanted students and community to benefit from the both the opportunity to study the area and its beauty. This team worked with the municipality, Manitoba Hydro, and the local Conservation District to ensure the feasibility of the project as well as to secure funding partners.

The success of this project is thanks to a dedicated team and strong community support!