2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Grant High School student Landon Lo’s proposal was to support pollinators by creating and expanding habitat on the school campus. Helped by fellow students Valeria Sanchez, Adan Lopez, Chris V. and others, he was able to see his project through and transform 4 raised planter beds into gardens boasting a variety of pollinator-friendly, drought tolerant plant species. Their plantings surrounded a beautiful “pollinator totem” to create a beautiful space on campus.
Emma Eddy
The Cache La Poudre Watershed covers 1,000 square miles of land and supports about 330,000 people. At home car washes can degrade the health of our watersheds. That’s why Emma decided to take action! To spread awareness over her concern and to educate the community, she developed an educational video that she was able to share on social media. It gained over 300 views! The City of Fort Collins Utilities shared her project on their social media sites as well. As an added incentive she embedded her own contest for three people to win a car washing gift card for a year that was generously donated by Breeze Thru Car Wash. Viewers entered the contest by using her hashtag #WaterShedWash. The winners were selected and now have a chance to improve their watershed.
Pamela Perez
Plastic is everywhere and we use them everyday. One of them being plastic toothbrushes. Pamela found that plastic can travel through many other watersheds and end up in the ocean. This in turn affects our water quality and organisms – including humans. She learned that plastic toothbrushes can take up to 400 years to decompose! That’s why she decided to encourage her peers to make the switch from plastic toothbrushes to bamboo toothbrushes. Pamela constructed a presentation with all the details on why it’s important to make the switch. This presentation was shared with peers remotely or presented by teachers, as there were COVID protocols restricting Pamela from presenting herself. Pamela also distributed bamboo toothbrushes to students that reviewed her presentation. Pamela received a lot of positive feedback from her peers. It sounds like her peers are happy they made the switch!
Yaritza Morfin
Before Yaritza’s project, her school cafeteria was distributing plastic utensils for lunches. Yaritza looked into this and found that plastic utensils can take over 450 years to decompose! She knew she had to take action. Yaritza worked with the cafeteria team to make the switch to biodegradable utensils. The cafeteria didn’t have the proper infrastructure to switch to reusable utensils, so she settled with biodegradable utensils. She specifically moved forward with sporks because they could take the place of both spoons and forks, decreasing her school’s plastic waste. With about 150 students eating lunch at school everyday for four days a week, Yaritza managed to decrease the amount of plastic waste while also reducing about twenty-three pounds of CO2 emissions in one month!
Brookelynn Hernandez and Helena Rangel
Colorado has been affected by drought and it’s only becoming worse with climate change. This means that there is a greater need to conserve our water sources. Our local watersheds such as the Cache la Poudre and Big Thompson watersheds are significantly affected by drought and climate change. That’s why Brookelynn and Helena decided to encourage community members to xeriscape their gardens. Xeriscaping can reduce water use by 50% to 70% and by conserving water, we are keeping our watersheds healthy and flowing. They decided to set up a booth at our local farmers market and give out free succulents to promote xeriscaping and educate people about the benefits of using native plants. Attendees were excited to take their new succulents home to start taking action!
Daniel Rodriguez, Elian Martinez
Daniel and Elian worked with elementary students to inform them of the dangers the result from littering. During these visits they discussed how littering affects fishes surrounding their community. Litter can make its way into storm drains and into our watersheds if it’s not disposed of properly. Both Daniel and Elian believe littering is a result of bad habits that are developed at an early age. They asked the elementary students to take care of the betta fishes Daniel and Elian provided to them so the student would build a close and positive relationship with the fishes. This in turn, would encourage the third graders to protect their watershed. Both Daniel and Elian would like to see this project become a recurring tradition at their high school.
2021, Sacramento, CA, USA
George Washington Carver High School students Ekhman Kahlon and Tess Brown are concerned
about the direct and indirect pollution of their local creeks. They are also concerned about the lack of awareness (especially of their peer group) about the importance of water quality and how it can affect the aquatic ecosystem as well as drinking water. They devised a project in which they would test some basic indicators of water quality in 2 local creeks, then discuss their findings through social media. In order to gain the attention of their peer group, the team designed and posted creek-themed memes, then posted about the constituents they tested for and what levels outside the standard range can mean for the health of the creek. Ekman and Tess themselves learned a lot from the process and hope to get others interested learning more about water quality and the sources of pollutants in our waterways.
2021, Sacramento, CA, USA
George Washington Carver High School students Abigail Parayo, John Hixson, Viktoria Neufeld, Antonio Ramirez are concerned about drought in California and wanted to focus their Caring for Our Watersheds project on ways to conserve water at home. As almost half of residential water in CA is used on outdoor landscapes, they decided to install a water barrel at one of the student’s homes.
Rainwater would be collected during winter and spring storms and could be used to water plants in the yard during the drier months. The group connected the barrel to the existing rainspout using an adapter kit and built a stand for the rain barrel to help gravity feed water through a hose to reach further plants. This project allowed them to get one step further toward their water conservation goals, gave them some basic construction experience, and allowed them to safely complete an outdoor project at home during COVID-19.
2021, Sacramento, CA, USA
When George Washington Carver High School students Imani Stroman-Valdez, Nyah Parker, Andrey Sasevich, Max Musacchia were planning their Caring for Our Watersheds project, they knew they wanted to complete a stewardship project close to their high school. They identified the Lincoln Village Community Park and the adjacent Neil Orchard Senior Activities Center as an area that could use some attention and care. The students planned and conducted a litter clean-up event at the park and center. 
In addition, they identified areas to place 2 low-maintenance continuous composters, to reduce organic waste in the trash bins. The compost created would be used to enrich the soil in the flower beds around the Center. While the group is awaiting approval for the placement of the composters, they were able to complete the clean-up and be stewards of a park quite close to home and their school community.
2021, Sacramento, CA, USA
Malisa Cheng and Samantha Vang, students in Grant High School’s GEO Academy, know that drought in California is an ongoing issue. In an effort to reduce the amount of water used on landscaping, the students decided to focus their efforts on planting a variety of water-wise plant species that would still serve as habitat for native bees and butterflies. The students researched plants, and found that yarrow, penstemon, and salvia sp, were especially suited to the local climate and region and provide nectar sources during spring and summer. In addition to planting these species, the students also planted a few drought tolerant trees that will provide habitat, fruit, and can help sequester carbon, especially when mature.