Planting Trees to Improve Dissolved Oxygen

2014 Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Seventh grade science students at George Washington Middle School tested water quality in local streams, and their results showed low dissolved oxygen, which is a threat to aquatic life. In the Chesapeake Bay, depletion of dissolved oxygen leads to extensive “dead zones” where important native species, like oysters, cannot survive. They worked with the city’s former Watershed Program Administrator and the Virginia Cooperative Extension to develop their solution to one of the causes for low dissolved oxygen. In Alexandria, storm water heats up on streets and other impervious surfaces, and the problem has worsened with loss of tree canopy to shade and cool the landscape. Improve their watershed. Their grant idea was based on the idea of planting trees along the Potomac River.

As Caring for Our Watersheds finalists, the students presented their proposal to plant trees to help reduce the temperature of stormwater runoff, and they demonstrated additional ecosystem benefits of trees using the UDSA Forest Service’s iTree software suite. Their Dissolved Oxygen Project was the winner of the 2014 Caring for Our Watersheds contest in Virginia.

With tree saplings donated by a local native plant nursery, Earth Sangha, they planted 14 trees at the school, and as the location was far from a water source, they requested and received $840 in implementation funding from Nutrien to cover a watering truck contract to keep the trees alive through the hot, dry summer. They also performed a rap to raise awareness of the importance of tree planting onstage at Alexandria’s Earth Day celebration at Ben Brenman Park.

A Rain Garden for Kenmore Middle School

2014 Arlington, Virginia, USA

Students in Liz Castillo’s sixth grade science class were concerned that stormwater runoff from the school property contributes to erosion and the transport of pollutants that reach Four Mile Run in Arlington. One of the places they noticed runoff was from the entrance awning to the school, which drained to a bare patch of ground in a highly visible location. The students recognized that this would be a good potential location for a rain garden, for practical and aesthetic reasons, and they knew that the previous year Kenmore students had not been able to get approval to put a rain garden on the roof. Their Caring for Our Watersheds proposal outlined their plan to make this improvement, and it was a finalist in the 2014 competition.

To implement their project, they enlisted the help of students at Washington‐Lee High School, who were able to provide some funding for rototilling through a Girl Scout Gold Award project, as well as additional muscle power to dig up the hard packed ground. Nutrien provided $640 toward plants, topsoil, mulch, and gravel for the rain garden, which had an overall budget of $887.

Pond Habitat – it’s in Our Hands

2014 Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Eighth graders at Lanier Middle School noticed that ducks frequently nest near a small pond created in the schoolyard’s habitat area, and they wanted to ensure the area supported duck nesting and wise water use. They felt that using rain barrels to fill the pond would be a better use of resources than filling the pond with potable water, and a good way to lead by example. However, they found that the school building has no downspouts in the habitat area, which is in an interior courtyard, so they thought a funnel could be used to direct rainwater into a rain barrel.

By conserving water, promoting wildlife habitat, and demonstrating an application for water harvesting, they knew their idea would improve the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and it would save the energy used to treat drinking water.

A finalist proposal in the 2014 Caring for Our Watersheds competition, their solution involved designing several possible funnels, and having one built to their specifications. They built a platform for the funnel and planted vegetation that would make the area a better nesting place. In consultation with experts from Lands & Waters and Friends of Accotink Creek, they implemented their solution with $2000 in funding from Nutrien.

CFW Project Update

In 2018, this schoolyard habitat is thriving, and has received a number of awards. The area continues to conserve water and energy by using rainwater instead of local drinking water, promote wildlife habitat through the well-established native vegetation, and is even used to inspire local educators to participate in CFW and implement solutions with their students.

Schoolyard Habitat 2018_image 1 Rain Barrel still used in 2018!

Storm Drain Survival Kit

2014 Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

In 2014, the second-place winner of The Caring For Our Watersheds competition, Lethbridge High School student Kelsey Armstrong, decided to tackle the issue of debris build-up around local storm drains in her community. Kelsey was concerned that debris entering our watershed through storm drains was impacting the quality of the Oldman River. As a solution, Kelsey designed the “Storm Drain Survival Kit”.

The Storm Drain Survival Kit is made up of: garbage bags, doggie bags, a trowel, gloves, a Prairie Urban Garden plant book and an information brochure, all contained within a reusable shopping bag.

Over six hundred Storm Drain Survival Kits were distributed to the community at events such as: the Lethbridge Green List Celebration, the Annual Knapweed Pull, Prairie Garden Urban Tours, local farmer’s markets and home and garden shows. Through Kelsey’s hard work and commitment to sharing information on storm water awareness, this project was far-reaching and has had an on-going impact in her community.

Along with support from the Caring For Our Watersheds program, Kelsey’s project received funding from The Community Foundation Lethbridge—Youth In Action, the Oldman Watershed Council and the City of Lethbridge.

S.T.O.P. – Storm Sewer Trash Only Pollutes

2014 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Justen Saini from Greystone Heights School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, proposed the idea of using informational brochures to educate Saskatonians on the proper ways and appropriate locations to dispose of household hazardous waste products. In his proposal, Justen made the connection between improper dumping of pollutants into Saskatoon’s storm drains to the lack of convenient hazardous drop off locations in the city. He emphasized that the current drop off location at the Sasktel Centre in the north-end of the city and its changing drop off times made it difficult for many citizens to access its services. This, therefore, increased the likelihood that citizens would look for alternate ways to dispose of wastes such as used oil, household chemical products, unused fertilizers, pesticides and other types of wastes. These
alternative ways often meant right into Saskatoon storm drains! Justen advocated for there to be another hazardous waste drop of location in the east-end of the city in order to reduce the cases of hazardous waste disposal into storm drains. Justen also proposed that his informational pamphlets be included in the City of Saskatoon’s utility bills and in the City of Saskatoon’s educational programs and informational booths. These brochures would make Saskatonians aware that any wastes that enter storm sewers proceed directly into the South Saskatchewan River. His brochures also outlined the operating hours of the Sasktel Centre drop off times and location.

Following his verbal presentation at the 2014 Caring for our Watersheds final competition, Justen Saini was invited by City Councilor Charlie Clark to make a presentation in front of City Council. On May 4, 2014 Justen Saini made a presentation to the City of Saskatoon Council advocating the recommendation to establish a new hazardous waste disposal location for the east-side of the city and to include his educational brochures in the utility bill and in City of Saskatoon educational programming. Following his presentation the City Councilors made a recommendation for another drop off location to be considered for the 2015 season. Currently, the City of Saskatoon is working with Justen to include his STOP pamphlets into the City of Saskatoon educational material and utility bill.

Thermal Pollution

2014 Wyoming, Ohio, USA

The Mill Creek is in the southwest corner of Ohio and empties into the Ohio River. It flows 28.4 miles through three different counties and about half a million people live within the watershed. It is mainly urban and industrial with some forested and agricultural lands located in the northern section. The Mill Creek also has many CSOs (combined sewer overflows) and SSOs (sanitary sewer overflows).

Thermal pollution is a problem in many of our urban streams, especially in the Mill Creek, that often flies under the radar. While thermal pollution doesn’t involve dumping massive amounts of chemicals into the rivers or many other signs that people generally associate with pollution, the heating and cooling of natural waterways (whether directly or indirectly caused by people) can have a bigger effect on wildlife ecosystems than people think.

Benny and Isabelle felt that they could do their part to reduce thermal pollution when it happens in a localized setting, such as when water temperature of creeks and streams rises due to lack of shading and foliage. Their solution was to plant trees along the banks of the North Branch of the Mill Creek. They felt it was an easy solution to tackle the problem of thermal pollution in local streams.

Benny and Isabelle put their project into action on May 10th, 2014. They had an excellent group of volunteers of both students and community members come out and help. Together they planted about 600 trees in about 3 hours. The areas where they planted were alongside a local stretch of the North Brach of the Mill Creek that was in need of restoration. It was a great time to be social and meet new people while helping out their watershed. Over all, they thought this was a very fun and education experience for them and they were honored to be offered such a wonderful opportunity.

Thermal Pollution

Bottle Filling Stations in Hockey Rinks

2014 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Erik Rogalka from Garden City Collegiate wanted to do something to conserve water in the community. He proposed installing water bottle filling stations at the new hockey rink.

“By all the teams and parents filling their bottles using one of these stations the amount of water that would be saved would be huge. Another great thing about these stations is that it lowers the amount of disposable bottles being used. Instead of buying disposable bottles, spectators and players can use this bottle filling station. This would decrease the amount of disposable bottles that are thrown out at hockey rinks.”

“This project would be a really good way to help preserve our watershed, even if it is just in a small way. Everyday people are wasting water and using plastic bottles in hockey rinks without giving it a second thought. People rarely think about the consequences of their actions and these bottle filling stations would help save our watershed from carelessness. This project is one hundred percent approved by the community centre and is relativity low in cost. For these reasons I think this would be an excellent plan to implement.”

Erik can now proudly say that through the Caring for Watersheds contest, he was able to make this happen!

Wetland Aeration System

2014 Wainwright, Alberta, Canada

Ben Brunen of Wainwright Alberta wanted to help protect wetlands and the aquatic life that depend on them in his home town. After discussions with local biologists and the Town of Wainwrights’ Park and Recreation department, he decided that the best way to do that was install an aeration system in one of the main waterbodies in town.

The wetland Ben focused on was in Wallace park, in the heart of Wainwright. A popular place for residents and visitors alike, the wetland water quality and aquatic life had been suffering with increased algae, due to lack of oxygen in the pond. Because of the pond’s condition, fish were not able to survive, taking away a popular summer-time activity for Wainwright’s residents: recreational fishing. Having an aeration system would help the wetland as the fish and other aquatic life depend on oxygen, often depleted by high algae levels.

Ben, the youth representative of the town’s Parks and Recreation board, had the Town of Wainwright help support half of the project costs to buy an aeration system. The Parks and Recreation board emphasize supporting local companies, so they naturally turned to Art Matthews of Wainwright Plumbing and Heating to design and install the aeration system. The system was installed in early summer of last year.

The system has been very successful in increasing oxygen in the water, supporting an increase in aquatic life and decreasing algae, while adding to the pleasing aesthetics of Wallace park. An article in Wainwright’s newspaper in May of 2014 reported that the system is still functioning perfectly, and trout populations are healthy, allowing for recreational fishing to begin at the start of summer.

Starting a Composting System for the School Garden

2014 Antelope, California, USA

Antelope High School student Chelsea Morgan wanted to make use of the large amount of green waste produced by the school garden. In the old system, students were throwing away this green waste directly into the trash dumpster. She was concerned that the green waste in the landfill was a wasted resource and would only add to the production of excess methane. She wrote a proposal to build a compost bin for the waste, and students in the People for the Planet club helped to implement her project. When green waste in composted, it produces a very important, nutrient-rich soil additive for the garden.

The students built a wooden 3-bin compost system conveniently located adjacent to the school garden. Once the original green waste has been in the first bin for a few months, students will transfer it to the next bin for further decomposition, which will also open up space for the new green waste.

In addition to providing fertilizer for the garden and reducing the amount of waste being sent to the landfill, the compost system will be used as an educational tool for all of the Biology and Environmental Science classes at Antelope High.

Non-Native Rose Removal/Native Species Planting

2014 Antelope, California, USA

Students in Antelope High School’s People of the Planet Club helped to implement Dayna Berry’s “Removing the Thorns” proposal, which took first place at the 2013 Caring for Our Watersheds California Final Competition. This proposal was to remove existing non-native rose bushes around the school and replace them with a variety of native plants. The roses require watering and application of chemical pesticides/ fertilizers, which have the potential to run-off and pollute the surrounding creeks. In addition, these rose bushes flowered for only 2 weeks out of the year, so they were very poor plants to attract pollinators. The native plantings, adapted to the local climate, would not require long-term irrigation or pesticides and would also provide habitat and food sources for local birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.

Students worked to replace the non-native rose bushes with CA native plant species that are drought tolerant and require no additional chemical inputs. They also mulched the area to prevent evaporation and to help control weeds. At project completion, they had planted 15 Blue blossom ceanothus, 24 Provence lavender, and 20 California fuchsia, as well as adding 16 yards of mulch to the area. Nutrien implementation funds made the purchase of plants and mulch possible

The students and others on campus are pleased with the initial results as the plants are already starting to bloom. While the plants are small now, they will grow quickly to beautify the campus as well as provide many flowers for pollinators.