Biodegradable Sunscreen

2019, Shoal Lake, Manitoba, Canada

Manitoba Biodegradable Sunscreen Implementation

Bailey Ostash and Nadia Nickel are students at Shoal Lake School in Shoal Lake, Manitoba. Living in the Lake Winnipeg Watershed, they became worried about the algal blooms appearing on lakes in the area.

“On a hot sunny day, you are going to the beach. What’s one of the first things you do? Most people, as soon as they get to the beach, put on sunscreen. Then, they go into the water… One of our main concerns is that sunscreen [can be] full of many harmful chemicals that harm our watershed.”

Their solution was to create their own homemade, natural, biodegradable sunscreen. They will educate students in their school and people in their community on ways that they can reduce their impacts on their watershed with simple solutions like eco-friendly sunscreen. They plan to set up at local farmer’s markets and craft shows to spread their message and their product.

“It has been such a rewarding project. [Bailey & Nadia have] inspired me to learn more and get more involved with other groups and activities.” – Benita Shwaluk, Teacher, Shoal Lake School

Cigarette Butt Disposal

2019, The Pas, Manitoba, Canada

Margaret Barbour Collegiate students Blaze Head & Christian Tilling wanted to make their school yard a cleaner place. They looked at the trash on the school property and noticed that, much like many places, the majority of the trash was comprised of cigarette butts. They decided they wanted to do something about it, so they came up with a plan to reduce the amount of cigarette butt waste they were seeing by having a disposal container installed.

“This project will help our environment by reducing the cigarettes and chemicals going into our watershed and contaminating our rivers and ground water.”

A Toothbrush’s Journey

You may not know this, but plastic toothbrushes create major toothaches for our environment.

When student Jenn Fossay from Warren Collegiate in Warren, Manitoba, learnt that plastic toothbrushes take over 400 years to decompose, she knew that she had to come up with a solution.

To raise awareness about the negative effects of plastic toothbrushes on the environment, Jenn wrote and illustrated a children’s book to educate the next generation. The book takes readers through the life-cycle of a toothbrush lost down the storm drain. Once the toothbrush makes its way into the environment, it begins negatively impacting the lives of marine animals. Continue reading…

Alternate Acrylic Field Marking Paint Campaign

2019, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Keanna Bailey and Jenna Myskiw are students at Garden City Collegiate in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They noticed that the field marking paint that their school division used on school sports fields was made of a material that could leach into their watershed and cause problems. They found an alternative that was much more eco-friendly. They approached their school division to see if they would support a change in the paints they were using, and the division agreed to change all their paint over to eco-friendly options! The division made the change on their own without any additional funding, and they plan to continue to use it in the future. Sometimes, all it takes is letting someone know there is a better way!

“Encouraging more youth to take precautions and rethink how their lifestyle is impacting our watershed. By creating this conversation, along with educating each other on Lake Winnipeg watersheds current situation allows the topic to be exposed to more people. Ultimately try to get everyone switching their ways to ecofriendly products. At last, we are concerned for our watershed and want to help fix the chemical flow into Lake Winnipeg. Because it is devastating to see, our lake portrayed as a harmful body of water, mainly due to human activities that can be fixed. We want to be able to enjoy Lake Winnipeg for years to come, and that starts with recognizing our actions, and revising to more sustainable options that will benefit our watershed and overall environment.”

Tainted Paint

2019, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Abrianna, Ella, and Mary of St. Kateri Tekakwitha School in Regina, Saskatchewan were concerned with paint (and other environmental contaminants) not being properly disposed of. They were alarmed that when paint doesn’t get properly disposed of, it can end up in our water sources. They came up with a plan to make it easier for people to properly dispose of these items, and also to make people aware of the dangers of not disposing of these items properly.

Tainted Paint Implementation SK 2

These girls have already collected numerous paint cans, as well as old nail polish bottles. In addition to placing collection bins for nail polish bottles at Sally Beauty and paint collection bins at 4Cats Art Studio, they have gone door-to-door in their neighbourhood collecting these items to ensure they get disposed of properly.

Abrianna, Ella, and Mary have already seen the impact of their project by collecting old paint cans and nail polish bottles and taking them for proper disposal.

They have also been able to donate paint that is still usable to organizations that can’t afford to purchase such items.

Recycling and Repurposing Electronics

2018-2019, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Recycling and Repurposing Electronics at Kenmore Middle School Valeria, Ashley, Iliana, Zaneya, Frank, Emmett, Connor, Jamethiel, Valery, Brady, and Talin were bothered by all the electronic being thrown away. Many contain components that leak toxins into the watershed. They hoped that by collecting unwanted electronics they could repurpose some and safely recycle others.

To improve their watershed, they wanted to recycle old phones, computers, tablets, and batteries in their school and community; but after weeks of research, they are limiting themselves to only accepting phones, batteries, and tablets.

They have approval from their principal to put shelves in their school lobby where people can put their old electronics. Staples has agreed to take the tablets every other week. If they happen to come across computers, Staples will take a few.

Their in-school police detective will take reusable phones to the Witness and Victim Protection Program so they can be used by victims of domestic violence. If there are broken phones they can’t use, they plan to put them on Freecycle.org for people who want parts. Apple will take back any of their devices that are broken. Arlington County will take their batteries. They made a request that the county take the computers, but after many conversations, they sadly declined; but they can publicize the services the county has for recycling.

Another part of their recycling solution is to distribute flyers that say what to recycle in their county. They will give the magnets to every student in the school to share with families. Another class has asked if they can give out their magnets as prizes to people who recycle.

Conclusion: Recycling electronics will helps the environment by taking out the lithium batteries that might cause a fire or explosion and the metals and plastic that would just end up in the trash. Old electronics pollute the environment and could cause horrendous impacts on the earth. Recycling will keep toxic chemicals out of the water supply.

Watershed Art Mural

2018, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Rebecca Knapp, a student from Miles Macdonell Collegiate, wanted to educate her fellow students about the damage that improperly disposed waste can have on our watersheds. She came up with idea to turn trash into art to get her message across. This mural and plaque have been put up in her school to remind everyone who sees it to help keep their watershed free of garbage and plastic.

watershed art mural

WATERSHED BIOLOGY FIELD TRIP

Watershed Biology Trip Group

2018, Sacramento, California, USA

Evelin Pelayo knew that if her fellow students were to become stewards of the watershed, they first needed to engage directly with it through hands-on study of our natural resources. Without this direct experience, she felt it would be more difficult for her classmates to feel connected to the natural world and make choices to protect it. Therefore, Evelin wrote a proposal to fund a field trip to Donner Summit, where students would collect and analyze data under the guidance of Headwaters Institute staff.

Watershed Biology Trip 1

Each group studied a different aspect of Watershed Biology. For example, her group studied water depth and flow in relation to the number and species of invertebrates, while another sampled vegetation at various distances from water to compare.

Evelin’s Caring for Our Watersheds proposal and funding from Nutrien helped more of her classmates have this unique experience, in which they learned about scientific data collection techniques, the interaction of biotic and abiotic factors, the local environment, and each other on a whole new level.

NUTRIENTS IN POTOMAC RIVER

2016, Alexandria, VA, USA

George Washington Middle School in Alexandria, VA found nitrate levels in the Potomac River were twice the normal level, putting organisms in the environment at risk. Upon further research and after surveying members of the community, the students found that the major cause of high phosphate and nitrate levels in the Potomac is improper application of fertilizer.

The students partnered with Greenstreet Gardens, a local garden shop, to educate community members. They created an addendum to an existing Greenstreet Gardens class to include a segment on proper fertilizer usage. They strongly believe that public education is the key to reducing the nitrate levels of the Potomac River, realizing that many people simply use the tool incorrectly. The students are advertising the classes and incentivizing attendance by raffling five mini rain garden starter packs, provided by Greenstreet Gardens. Nutrien will provide $317 for rain garden plants.

AERATION MODIFICATION

2017, CINCINNATI, OH, USA
Aeration Modification
Matthew Murphy of Oak Hills High School knew that he wanted his project to be both simplistic and effective, with the main focus to be his school’s bathrooms. Matthew’s high school building is older and hadn’t been renovated in a very long time, making the bathrooms a prime candidate for a water conservation project.

He found inspiration when he took a school field trip to the Ohio River with his AP Environmental Science class. There they discussed the issue of combined water sewer systems in the Ohio River Watershed; essentially when there is too much rain, the sewer system bypasses the water treatment plant and deposits a ton of pollution into the Ohio River. This outing helped to establish the primary goal of his project: reduce the total amount of water that Oak Hills puts into its combined sewer systems as a means to reduce the total waste put into the river during periods of heavy rain.

Matthew’s solution was to replace the faucet aerators in all the bathroom sinks around the school. An aerator is the part of the sink faucet where the water comes out. The old aerators in the school used 2.2 gallons of water per minute, equating to a total of 360,000 gallons of water over the course of 95 days. (2,650 people x 2 trips a day x 20 seconds x 2.2 GM x 95 days). The new aerators that he purchased for his school only used 0.5 gallons of water per minute, this in turn should only use 80,000 gallons of water over 95 days. (2,650 people x 2 trips a day x 20 seconds x 0.5 GM x 95 days)

This project not only has the ability to help the school conserve water, it also will allow the school to save roughly $2,000 every 95 days. In turn, he plans to propose using these dollar savings to hold a mini watershed project in his high school. Discussing water conservation and rewarding innovative thinking will help future classes of students create a more environmentally sustainable school. Matthew’s hope is that year after year, students continue the work to improve the school’s sustainability.