Think Before You Throw It

Union Colony Prep, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Mariah Glasper and Lana Coron from Union Colony Prep wanted to decrease the amount of trash found in their watershed. They learned that wildlife can confuse trash for food and that trash can also be detrimental to the quality of water as some of the chemicals from plastic waste can leach into our water. To address this issue, they decided to focus on littering that originates from drivers. Mariah and Lana purchased 100 reusable trash bins that drivers can keep in their vehicles. They strategically selected these bins because of their convenience— they were collapsible and easy to store. These bins were distributed to peers and neighbors. With this project, they were able to contribute to Targets 6.3 and 12.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Trash bin in car, student handing out trash bin to driver through window, students posing

The Problem with Menstrual Waste

Roosevelt High School, Johnstown, Colorado, USA

Olivia Chamberlain, Maerron Lovern, and Cassidy Poley from Roosevelt High School noticed a common theme in their lives; that menstrual products produce a lot of waste. These single-use products are some of the most common pollutants in watersheds, with tampon applicators being the second most common plastic found on beaches. These products take a long time to break down and have unfortunate implications on ecosystems. To address this problem, Olivia, Maerron, and Cassidy distributed multi-use period products, specifically menstrual cups, to community members and peers. Menstrual cups can last up to ten years, save thousands of dollars for consumers, and are better for the health of watersheds and communities. Ten cups were distributed to their community’s menstruators and an educational flyer on how they can reduce their period waste. Olivia, Maerron, and Cassidy helped contribute to Targets 6.3 and 14.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Menstrual cup in packaging with pamphlet of watershed info, students posing with menstrual cup

Sustainable Rain Garden

Dayspring Christian Academy, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Jacob Riemer, Elijah Dougherty, Malachi Fast, and Jack Lawrence from Dayspring Christian Academy noticed that water was running off the streets and their school parking lot, carrying pollutants into water sources. Their school did not yet have a water collection system in place to help filter runoff water. That’s why this team decided to install a rain garden at the end of their school’s courtyard. This location was ideal for their rain garden as the water from their school’s parking lot often ended up in this area. Plants native to Colorado were planted in the garden. These plants require little water to thrive making them sustainable for the area and will play a vital role for pollinators. Within the first summer of completing this project, water has already filled this rain garden! This team hopes to incorporate some educational activities in the near future for the elementary students to utilize and learn at the rain garden. With their project, Jacob, Elijah, Malachi, and Jack contributed to Targets 6.3 and 15.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sketch of rain garden, students digging out rain garden by school, finish rain garden by school

Splish Splash Education Time!

Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Sayre Loy and Sophia Jess from Rocky Mountain High School found that water runoff can carry pollutants across watersheds. Through their research, they learned that improper use of pesticides and fertilizers, and improper disposal of waste and toxic chemicals can have major effects on a watershed and the organisms in them. To take action, Sayre and Sophia strategically installed a rain garden at Werner Elementary School on a sunny Saturday afternoon to help filter harmful pollutants in water runoff. To expand their efforts, Sayre and Sophia presented to elementary students on Earth Day to educate them on the benefits of having a rain garden and how they can take action to decrease pollution in their watershed. Sayre and Sophia helped contribute to Targets 4.7 and 6.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Students installing rain garden, students presenting to elementary students, students posing beside garden

Saving Our Watershed and Decreasing Inequality, One Fork at a Time

Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

In the United States, over 100 million plastic utensils are used and tossed every day and can take up to 1,000 years to fully decompose. If these plastic utensils get into the Cache La Poudre, they can break down into microplastics that can harm the organisms who consume them. This can result in an imbalance in the ecosystem, such as an overproduction of algae or other organisms, that can then affect the overall water quality of our watershed. To combat this issue, Rylan Nicholson from Rocky Mountain High School decided to donate biodegradable utensils to the Fort Collins Rescue Mission organization. The utensils were handed out with the meals in place of the nondegradable, plastic utensils. This solution addressed Targets 6.3 and 14.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals and will ensure that less non-recyclable utensils will find its way into our watershed and improve the water quality overall.

Man signing clipboard with student watching, students loading boxes into vehicle, student checking clipboard in office

Protecting the Sherwood Straight

Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Jack Devincenzi from Fort Collins High School through his research found that ditch systems can fall victim to pollution. With that, he decided to educate residents who live in and around the Sherwood Straight about the impact that pet waste, pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals can have on water quality if not properly managed. By keeping the water in the ditch systems clean, it would also improve the water quality of Lake Sherwood, the Fort Collins High School, and Stew Case Park fields, and ultimately the Poudre River downstream as it’s all connected back to the ditch systems. Jack reached out to 300 households during the week of Earth Day. His goal was to collect pledges from at least 30% of the households on three different actions they could take in and around their homes to reduce pollution and improve water quality of the Sherwood Straight. Ultimately, he reached a 50% response rate and heard a lot of enthusiasm for this solution. This project contributes to Target 6.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Student going door to door to get pledges, pamphlet that was made on information of the pollution that occurs in ditches

Pollinator Planters

Greeley West High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Through their environmental class, Joselly Vazquez and Gabriella Lam from Greeley West High School learned about the impacts housing development has had on pollinators. Pollinators play a vital role creating and maintaining ecosystems that many animals depend on whether it’s for food and/or shelter. Almost 80% of our food and plant-based industrial products require pollination by animals. Flowering plants also play a crucial role in watersheds as they help purify water, prevent erosion, and return moisture to the atmosphere. The population of pollinators, especially bees, are decreasing due to habitat loss from increased development –and development in Greeley is continuing to grow rapidly. If local pollinators are affected, the food chain along with water quality will be compromised. To address this concern, Joselly and Gabriella upcycled filing cabinets from their school and turned them into pollinator planters which were then installed around their new school building. Joselly and Gabriella provided habitat and food source for pollinators while also preventing some filing cabinets from being thrown into the landfill. Their project contributed to Targets 6.3, 12.5, and 15.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Recycled filing cabinet with pollinator plants in them, planters positioned outside of school, students posing

Mama Otter Saves The Day

Rocky Mountain High School, Fort Collins, Colorado

Person holding Mama Otter Saves the Day book up with page open

Wilson Caradoc and Joshua Lark from Rocky Mountain High School wanted to address the persistent issue of littering, especially its impact on watersheds and wildlife. They learned that plastic can be consumed by animals and in worst cases lead to their death, sometimes damaging large populations. This is called bioaccumulation, when an animal ingests something like mercury or plastic and cannot digest it. It then accumulates inside the animal’s tissue and predators that consume them. Wilson and Joshua addressed their concern by bringing awareness to this topic. They wrote and illustrated a children’s book about a mother otter whose watershed becomes heavily polluted by trash, and she cannot feed her babies. Their motivation was to inspire youth to take action for their environment as soon as possible—they do not have to wait until they are older to do great things. Nonetheless, they illustrated diverse children so that every child could see someone like themselves doing the right thing. Sometimes that’s all it takes to change the world. They read the book in person to six elementary schools: roughly adding up to 20 classes total. Wilson and Joshua donated three copies of their book to three different Poudre River Library locations, one copy to the Rocky Media Center, the Poudre Learning Center, and Nutrien. With their efforts, Wilson and Joshua contributed to Targets 4.7 and 6.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Download PDF of Book

Two students presenting a book on screen to young children

Educate the People!

Greeley West High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Nihit Panth from Greeley West High School learned about the numerous ways humans influence their watersheds through his environmental course –both about the good and the bad. Most importantly, Nihit learned how he can live more sustainably to improve the health and quality of his watershed. He wanted to share some of the knowledge he acquired with his peers and with community members. To do this, he developed and printed twenty educational posters to inform and encourage individuals to take steps to improve their watersheds through everyday tasks and have been displayed at outdoor centers, in his school’s hallways, and classrooms from several different schools. These posters contain information on what a watershed is, the importance of a watershed, a detailed description about Nihit’s watershed, and ideas for living more sustainably to improve water quality. With his project, Nihit was able to contribute to Targets 4.7 and 6.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Educational poster on wall, student posing in front of camera

Dreaming in Purple

Greeley West High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Anayeli Martinez from Greeley West High School was concerned about the trash she was finding in public parks. Anayeli understood that trash from one watershed can end up in another watershed –even as far down to the ocean– affecting both land and aquatic organisms and vital resources they depend on. To address her concern, Anayeli produced a piece of artwork to illustrate the beauty of the natural world to encourage her peers and community to look after it. She painted a round canvas with illustrations of sea life –seahorses, jellyfish, and sea turtles– in a purple color scheme that included yellow, blue, and pink colors. The canvas is bordered by tissue paper and buttons -representing trash that can surround and infiltrate our watersheds. Anayeli’s artwork illustrates one of her dreams: thriving watersheds across the world contributing to healthy oceanic ecosystems. The artwork has been displayed at the Poudre Learning Center (an outdoor center), a retirement home, and will continue to circulate throughout other locations like Anayeli’s school. Her project contributes to Target 6.3 and 12.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Painted round convas with illustrations of sea life, student posing, canvas hanging on wall