2012 Arlington, Virginia, USA
Sixth graders at Kenmore Middle School aimed to address bacterial contamination in Four Mile Run by repurposing used plastic bags for pet waste disposal at local dog parks. Collecting bags from the school community and neighbors, they were able to donate roughly 10,000 gabs to Arlington Dogs for this purpose.
2012 Washington DC, USA
Seventh graders at Jefferson Middle School in southwest DC wanted to address the pollutants that reach the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers through stormwater. They decided to create a rain garden at school to retain stormwater on-site. Enlisting the help of local nurseries in planning, they created a small rain garden featuring plants adapted to the Coastal Plain setting.
At the Caring for Our Watersheds finals, students shared a short video presentation on the importance of watershed stewardship and taking an active role in it. At the conclusion of their finals presentation, student Xavier H. Said, “i never did anything like this before, and I am happy to be part fo this project… I felt a great deal of pride because we did it.”
2012 Brighton, Ontario, Canada
Kevin Peterson, Grade 8 student at Brighton Public School identified improper disposal of batteries as Battery waste poses a large problem in landfills since large amounts of batteries are disposed improperly. The main problem with batteries in landfills is the chemicals such as lead, cobalt, cadmium, lithium and potassium hydroxide that get leaked into drinking water then consumed by humans. This then causes a large amount of medical conditions.
Kevin noted that, although there are battery recycling programs in place, a lack of advertisement as well as lack of drop off boxes remains a problem. His proposal was to display posters where batteries are sold to inform customers about the battery recycling programs. In addition drop off boxes for batteries are needed in more local businesses and community centers not just big box stores to help expand these programs into smaller communities.
After the Caring for our Watersheds contest Kevin presented his idea to Brighton Municipal Council. They were so impressed that they not only gave Kevin permission to locate a battery drop off box and poster in the municipal building, they also agreed to fund the cost of all the boxes and posters.
2012 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Kyle Cousins with the EcoJustice program at St. Edward School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan developed a wonderful idea about how to help protect the watershed. Kyle’s idea was to create an environmentally-friendly and chemical-free all-purpose cleaner that would be simple enough for people to make in their own households. He chose to make a chemical free cleaner for his watersheds project because when you’re cleaning and you use a chemical-based cleaner and some of the cleaner goes down the drain, it will eventually end up polluting the watershed. However, if you use a chemical-free cleaner, then you don’t have to worry about chemical-based pollution coming from that cleaner.
The benefits of using a homemade cleaner greatly outnumber the disadvantages. First off, it will save you money because cleaners at stores can be quite pricey, but when you make your own, the ingredients are much less expensive. Next, GreenLemon is environmentally friendly because without chemicals there is no chemical pollution. Another advantage to making your own cleaner is that you can use the same bottle over and over again, thus you will not need to get a new bottle every time. This will reduce the amount of plastic that either needs to be recycled or might find its way into the watershed or landfill. As well, since GreenLemon has no chemicals, it is safer for children and pets, as well as adults.
Kyle created a blog to help share his cleaning solution in addition to including the recipe at this school and his school newsletters.
GreenLemon Cleaning Solution- 4L Recipe 3L of Water, 3 cups Vinegar, 1/4 cups Baking Soda Add 15ml of Lemon Juice to every 1L of solution at time of use
2012 Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada
Dean Webber from Lord Selkirk Regional High school proposed to reduce water use at the school by installing water sensors in the washrooms.
“Using automatic taps decreases water usage by up to 1.7 liters per use. If less water is used by the school then less pollution will be emitted into the environment by cleaning and heating the water.”
The water taps have now been installed in the bathrooms at Lord Selkirk. The school has also purchased 4 more taps so that the main bathrooms all have water saving automatic taps. The Caring for Watersheds taps sponsored by Nutrien (at a cost of $1,200) started the ball rolling on the implementation of water saving devices within the washrooms in our school. “The students have been really respectful of these new taps and there have been several positive articles written about them in the school newspaper” states Angela Bajt, educator at the school.
2012 Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada
What don’t the students use the water fountains in Lord Selkirk School? Jason Bzura wanted to 
investigate the answer. The flavor of the water was one reason, and the second was the inability to fill reusable water bottles. He did a great deal of research on water quality but in the end, a simple water filter to improve the flavor and a filling station was the answer.
He asked the students and they agreed if this would exist in their school they would reduce if not eliminate their purchase of water bottles.
Nutrien contributed $1,000 to this project.
“The water bottle filling station is almost up and running. It has been installed but we are waiting on one part that was damaged in order for it to work. The students are constantly stopping by it and try to fill up their water bottles. We had to put a “coming soon” sign on it. I am sure that once it is in working order then several plastic water bottles will be diverted from the landfill.”
2012 Davis, California, USA
Da Vi
nci High School students Brenna Mockler, Nathan Lefkoff, Juliana Arvin, and Innis McComb placed 4th in the 2012 Caring for Our Watersheds contest for their idea to plant a native pollinator garden on their school campus. Their garden will serve to increase plant diversity on campus, provide habitat and nectar sources for pollinators, as well as create a space where students can learn about California native plants. In their proposal, they also pointed out that by planting native drought-resistant species, they will help to conserve water, support insect and butterfly populations, and beautify their campus. The garden will also be incorporated into the Botany class curriculum at school. This hands-on project has already deepened their knowledge of native plants and pollinator conservation. They hope it will continue to have the same effect on students at Da Vinci in years to come.
2012 Crystal City, Manitoba, Canada
Jayden Dobson and Daria Hildebrand from Thomas Greenway Middle School proposed a project focused on partnership and education. They wanted to improve and maintain drinking water quality throughout the Pembina River Watershed by educating their community as they felt clean water is too often taken for granted. “People need to be educated on water issues in order to learn their part in being responsible as they learn to respect water”.
Their proposal was to create simple but effective signs identifying locations that are key drinking water areas while educating citizens about protecting our essential resource. The solution was achievable only if this duo could find the right partners within the community; and they did.
This project became a reality with parterships with the Pembina Valley Conservation District, the town of Pilot Mound, as well as Ducks Unlimited Canada. Nutrien provided $400 for the purchase of the sign and the Conservation District provided the installation.
2012 Greeley, Colorado, USA
The students’ originally proposed to replace the soap dispensers in every bathroom with a dispenser of hand sanitizer, which would save time, trees, and reduce water consumption. By using hand sanitizer the students at the school would be saving paper towels, soap, and money. During the implementation of the proposal the students’ discovered recent research that suggests that the manufacturers of hand sanitizers claim that the sanitizers kill 99.9 percent of germs and this may not actually be the case. The students’ also found that the Food and Drug Administration recommends that hand sanitizers not be used in place of soap and water but only as an adjunct. It also recommends that to properly sanitize the hands, soap and water should be used; a hand sanitizer cannot and should not take the place of proper cleansing procedures with soap and water.
Based on their research, the students’ changed their search to finding a hospital-grade hand sanitizer that is triclosan-free (which has been found to alter hormone regulation in lab animals or cause antibiotic resistance). So, instead of replacing soap in the restrooms they are now placing the triclosan-free, hospital-grade hand sanitizer in the cafeteria at the head of the food line. At that point students will be able to enter the food area with germ-free hands. This means that the installed bio-based hand sanitizer will contribute not only to a cleaner and more economical school site, but also a more environmentally safe school for our students. Thanks to Nutrien for their donation of $698.00 to implement our solution.
“By keeping the chemicals out of our watershed we not only help our own area but all of those downstream of us.” Mayra & Sam
2012 Berthoud, Colorado, USA
Alex Liebman is a senior at Berthoud High School. She placed 4th at the Northern Colorado watershed contest with her project to implement rooftop gardens on the schools in the Northern Colorado area. The gardens will serve as insulation for the school, reduce water runoff that could potentially be polluted, lower erosion levels, and provide a learning experience for students at the schools.
The garden consists of a square foot section of the roof that is covered with plants that will greatly benefit from the rain water that would otherwise be directed into the gutters, and sent into the school parking lots where the water will mix with possible toxins that could potentially be harmful to the watershed. Berthoud High School will serve as the pilot project.
Green Roofs of Colorado, LLC the company that installed the rooftop garden on top of the EPA building in Denver, Colorado, (photo to the right) will use Berthoud as a referral to have additional schools in the area also install a green roof.
“I am extremely thankful to Nutrien for their donation of $1,008.60 to implement the project from the estimated cost budget.” Says Alex.