Bag it! Trash it!

2013 Brighton, Ontario, Canada

Tyler Brown, a grade 9 student from East Northumberland Secondary School won first place for his idea called Bag it! Trash it! Tyler identified that dog waste that is left on the ground by pet owners throughout the watershed is a problem with an easy solution. He identified various environmental concerns such as contamination of local water systems as well as health concerns from diseased dog feces

Tyler proposed installing dog waste dispensers with biodegradable bags in convenient public locations throughout the watershed to encourage dog owners to pick up dog waste and dispose of it in an environmentally friendly manner.

The uptake of Tyler’s solution has been tremendous throughout the Lower Trent Region Watershed with a total of 18 dog waste dispensers to be installed as a result of Tyler’s idea. From May 2013 to August 2013, 14 dog waste dispensers were installed in high canine areas in the towns of Colborne, Brighton (including two Conservation Areas; Proctor Park and Goodrich-Loomis) and Frankford. In the fall of 2013 another eight dog waste dispensers were installed in Presqu’ile Provincial Park.

Tyler’s Caring for Our Watershed idea has had a positive impact for the health of the Lower Trent Watershed and the local communities.

“Green” Education for Life

2013, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project emphasizes the early teaching of environment care to kindergarten students. It aims to teach the students about nature and simple ways to take care of it. One example is by making vegetable gardens that are built with disposable materials. This project also implements puppet shows and plays to captivate students while also creating awareness.

CNC assisted in the project by putting the students in contact with two plastic artists. These artists helped the students create a “square garden” with puppets for the puppet shows/plays and an “owl” that illustrates different images of birds and trees.

Locating Cesspools to Improve the Quality of Water

2013, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project proposes a solution to a common problem in the urban areas surrounding the watershed. The problem in these areas is that a high percentage of new homes are built without access to sewage systems or central running water. Instead, every new house makes its own cesspool and well to get water.

Lack of knowledge about the location of individual cesspool has lead to many water intakes being located too close to the cesspools. A minimum distance between the cesspools of the neighbouring houses is recommended, meaning this is currently a health hazard to many in this area.

The project proposes a simple solution: make a public database of the location of the cesspools with the help of the community and the town hall. The project will use GPS to make the data public, and easily accessible. It will be launched using a geospatial database built by one of the winning projects of CFW 2012. (See Database of the Good Things, 2012).

Areco, a River of Ideas

2013, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project aims to motivate youth to actively participate in the design of public spaces in their
towns. It was proposed as an exercise – inspired by a successful project carried out in Madrid in 2004 – to invite all young students to upload design ideas on the Internet. The criteria of the designs were that they should illustrate how a busy public place on the Areco River should look. Unlike the Spanish proposal, which ended in a paper publication, they proposed to post the proposals on a Facebook page, called “Areco, a river of ideas”.

Just Like a “Hornero”

2013, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project was implemented in a small rural community called Cucullú. The main business activity of this small village with a population of 1300 inhabitants is the making of clay bricks, and the income for these workers is very low.

CFW brought an architect to the school to assist the students. With the help and guidance of the architect, who specialized in sustainable constructions, the students proposed an architectural creation and architectural education organized in a small building in the town. This particular building is a place where the community gathers for training, meetings, and special events.

The aim of the project is to use this place as a small educational space for the town; the students, their parents and siblings will be trained in the craft of sustainable construction, helping to improve the primarily poor conditions in which the community lives.

As a first step, they created a “Russian chimney” that it is a sustainable way to cook and maintain heat, which will keep the place very warm in the winter.

Reusable Bags

2012 Antelope, California, USA

Saterra Larsen, of Antelope High School, is concerned about excessive plastic bag pollution in her watershed. Her Caring for Our Watersheds idea was two-fold: to educate the public on the harmful effects of plastic bags and to promote the use of reusable bags. The site would be one of the busiest grocery/general stores in her community, the Wal-Mart supercenter. With the help of two other Antelope students, Kayla Miller and Megan Fairchild, she set up a table outside of the local store to distribute reusable bags for a voluntary donation. By using this free gift as a way to make contact with community members, they educated about the detrimental results of common plastic bag use and the great benefits of reusable sacks.

Students Demonstrate Water Efficient Landscaping

2012 Sacramento, California, USA

Florin High School students identified an opportunity on their school campus to demonstrate water-efficient landscaping, educate fellow students, parents, and community members, and beautify the school. Their proposal was to overhaul 8 old school planter boxes, which formerly held only unsightly weeds, old tree stumps, and garbage, by planting drought-tolerant California native species. Native species are adapted to the local climate and environment and do not require long-term irrigation or use of pesticides.

Acknowledging the diversity of their community, they also planned to install interpretive signs in 8 languages to educate on the benefits of landscaping with native species, such as conserving water, supporting native pollinators and bird species, etc. Students also would to give tours of the planters on back to school nights and other events to educate community members in addition to the student body.

When the students, who were mostly ESL Learners, gave a solid presentation at the 2012 Caring for Our Watersheds (CFW) final competition, they took second place and decided to implement their project with available CFW funds and additional club fundraisershe CFW finalists, as well as other members of their Watershed Team, planted in two phases. Fortunately, the school donated maintenance staff time to clear the planters of old tree stumps and fix existing irrigation, as this required some machinery. The students then refilled the planters with soil and planted a variety of California native forbs and shrubs. In addition to drawing attention to the newly refurbished planters, the students also drew more attention and interest to their afterschool Watershed Team, which has since tripled in size. These students will not only continue to care for the planter boxes, but will also continue to pursue other watershed stewardship and education opportunities in their community

Students Plant Oaks Along Sierra Creek

2012 Antelope, California, USA

Antelope High School Student Stephani Smith was concerned about the health of a creek that ran through her suburban neighborhood. Sierra Creek, a tributary to larger Dry Creek, had very little vegetation along its banks and the water was warm, stagnant, and full of sediment. Dry Creek has historically been habitat for Steelhead Trout and Chinook Salmon, but has suffered habitat degradation. Smith wanted to address this problem in her local watershed by planting native oak trees along the banks of Sierra Creek. In her Caring for Our Watersheds proposal and presentation, she explained the many benefits of such a planting. The roots of the trees would stabilize the soil and help prevent excessive soil erosion. The trees would provide shade to the creek to lower the water temperature for fish and aquatic species while also providing habitat for the native species of birds and mammals in the area. Also, the trees would improve the appearance of the local community and increase her community’s pride and respect for nature. Smith took first place in the 2012 CFW Final Competition.

Smith, fellow Antelope High Students, and community members participated in a large planting event on November 2, 2012. CFW implementation funds helped pay for the trees and many materials needed. They also received technical support and/or funding from several environmental organizations, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dry Creek Conservancy, Center for Land-Based Learning, Sac Tree Foundation, and Sac Area Creeks Council.

Approximately 60 saplings of Valley and Interior Dry Oaks were planted, along with 56 acorns. Different methods of non-traditional irrigation were used in separate areas of the planting site, including Dri-Water and Groasis Waterboxes. Antelope students will continue to monitor and study the effectiveness of these different methods as well as continue to care for the trees in years to come.

Students Create Water Efficient Irrigation System for School Garden

2012 Sacramento, California, USA

Students in the Green ROP Program at William Daylor High School were concerned about the amount of water that is wasted by home or commercial building owners that use older or traditional methods of watering their yards, gardens, or landscaping. tools such as sprinklers and hoses themselves, or when used during an inappropriate time of day, can often lead to an inefficient use of water. As water conservation is critical in California, they wanted to complete a project in their school garden to demonstrate a water efficient drip irrigation system.

The team submitted a proposal to install drip irrigation to the school garden, but also wanted to incorporate a water catchment barrel, pump, soil sensor, and solar=powered controller for the system.

The students worked with an irrigation specialist from the city who met with the students at school to show them how to install drip line to the boxes, and to show how a solar controller could help them regulate the watering of the garden. This specialist was able to get distributors to donate many materials and equipment, such as the drip line and solar controller. The students utilized the Caring for Our Watersheds implementation funding for the pump and sensor.

The Green ROP class now has an efficient, educational tool for the students to learn from because they can program watering times and lengths according to the change in season, temperature, and needs of the plants. The school no longer mishaps of over-watering by people leaving the sprinklers or hoses running. The rain barrel and pump is hooked up to the irrigation system to be used first before they need to use the city water source. The project truly demonstrates water efficiency and was a real success!

Rain Barrel Workshop

2012 Arlington, Virginia, USA

When sixth graders from Kenmore Middle School visited Four Mile Run at Bluemont Park in Arlington, they were surprised to find that the water was low in dissolved oxygen. To help address some of the causes, such as elevated temperatures in runoff and stormwater-borne pollutants, nutrients and organic materials, they decided to promote the use of rain barrels as a citizen-based approach to stormwater management.

To accomplish this goal, students held a rain barrel workshop for the community, educating residents about the use of rain barrels to help improve water quality. Their presentation discussed how stormwater affects dissolved oxygen in Four Mile Run, then covered techniques for decorating the rain barrels. Workshop participants could purchase rain barrels at reduced cost, decorating them them for use at home. 25 individuals from nine households attended, and twelve rain barrels went home with the workshop participants.