Tree Planting at Pony Express Elementary School

2015 Sacramento, California, USA

The MET Sacramento students Allison Goi, Mianna Muscat, and Justin Yu wanted to improve their watershed, while also providing a needed service to an elementary school is their area. As they reached out to local elementary schools, they found that Pony Express Elementary had formal plans to create a Nature Area, which would both provide habitat for birds, insects, and small mammals, as well as serve as an outdoor learning space for the students. To support and start the first phase of the project, Allison, Mianna, and Justin planted four different native species of trees in the designated area on campus. Caring for Our Watersheds project funds allowed them to purchase the trees and tools necessary for the work. As they planted while school was in session, they were able to interact with and answer questions from the elementary students and staff about the tree species and the benefit they will provide the campus and watershed. The were happy to be able to enhance their community in this way and kick-off a great project at a nearby school.

Bee Boxes

2015 Sacramento, California, USA

As Noah Crockette, Jack Gumbiner, William Neves, and Jacob Reynolds, students at the MET Sacramento High School, researched environmental issues in the agricultural landscape surrounding Sacramento, they became concerned with the threats pollinators were facing. In many places, pollinators, and their essential service of pollination, are at risk from habitat loss, pesticide use, and introduced diseases. They also found that since the 1990’s, bee biologists started to notice a decline in the abundance and distribution of several wild bumblebee species. These students decided to focus their efforts on bumblebee conservation by creating habitat for this particular species group. With Caring for Our Watersheds project funds, they were able to build four bumblebee boxes and install them on a farm located near Dry Creek in the Sacramento River Watershed.

Native Pollinator Project – Plantings and Information Kiosk

2015 Auburn, California, USA

Antelope High School student Emma Forester partnered with Placer Land Trust to complete a project focused on increasing habitat for native pollinators. As Emma researched pollinators and the essential service they provide to agriculture and natural vegetation, she learned of issues and threats to their survival from habitat loss, pesticide use, and introduced diseases. She decided she could help by planting native species to increase pollinator habitat and with the help of Placer Land Trust, found a perfect location at Auburn School Park, adjacent to a community garden. By providing nectar sources to forage in, she would encourage bees and other pollinators to help pollinate the plants in the community garden. Her plantings would also help stabilize the slope next to the garden that was weedy and prone to erosion.

After clearing the weeds and prepping the area, Emma planted several pounds native flowering plant seeds. As she returned the following season, she saw that “the flowers bloomed beautifully and there were tons of little black bumble bees that are buzzing around!” After the initial seed planting, Caring for Our Watersheds project funds allowed Emma and volunteers to terrace
another slope and plant small shrubs and forbs there. Emma, with her dad’s help, built a kiosk to hold information about her pollinator project and other garden information. She also built a bee box for native burrowing bees like carpenter bees and bumble bees that will be mounted in a far corner of the garden where it won’t be disturbed.

As an extension to her project, Emma is working on both an educational pamphlet for the garden and a short awareness video that can be used by Placer Land Trust in their educational tours.

Restoration and Invasive Removal at Consumnes

2015 Galt, California, USA

Students at Christian Brothers High School (CBHS) implemented a project first proposed by their fellow classmate, Tristan Trillo. Tristan originally proposed an invasive species removal and native plant restoration project along Sacramento River.

When it became apparent that the original site would not be possible, we helped connect students with land managers at the Cosumnes River Preserve, who welcomed students’ help with a habitat restoration/ expansion project along a tributary in the preserve.

Students helped to remove invasive species in the restoration area, as well as re-mulching and watering existing trees and replanting if necessary. Their work helped to reduce competition from non-native species in the area and, as the planted trees grow, provide additional habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Caring for Our Watersheds project funding helped support student transportation to the site, food, and other needs for their work in the field.

Batty for Clean Water

2015 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Erin and Hannah from St. Edward School came up with the idea of installing bat boxes at their school and along the Meewasin Trail to encourage the little brown bat population in the City of Saskatoon. The students felt that bats would prey upon insects, especially mosquitoes, and reduce the need for the city to spray insecticides and therefore reduce chemicals from entering our watershed.

Pesticides enter our watershed each summer. Homeowners use pesticides to kill mosquitos, ants, aphids and many other insects on their lawn and gardens. When it rains, these pesticides can be washed from lawns and gardens into storm drains and into our local river. Once pesticides get into our water it can affect the aquatic life and the Bat House Batty for clean water Saskatchewan Student Action Project quality of our drinking water in the South Saskatchewan River Watershed.

Bats are an important part of our watershed. They prey upon the insects that we use pesticides to control. Bats provide a natural way of controlling insect populations. Many North American bats can eat between 6000-8000 mosquito sized insects in one night!

Erin and Hannah came up with the idea of installing bat boxes at their school and donating bat boxes to Beaver Creek Conservation Area, which has many documented bat sightings. By increasing habitat for the little brown bat, a local species of bat in the Saskatoon area, it meant there would be a reduction in the insect populations in and around Saskatoon. Less insects mean less pesticides being used and a safer and healthier watershed.

The group built bat boxes with their class and developed a curriculum outcome package for teachers to do this activity with younger grades. The curriculum package was circulated around the school so more people can learn about the importance of these intrepid insect eating creatures!

Riparian Repair and Filtration System Project

2015 Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

“Riparian areas act as natural filters for the water going through them,” wrote Gimli High School student Meghan. “My hope is that by creating or enhancing a riparian area in an already existing body of water that leads to the lake I can reduce the negative impact of some of the water entering the lake.”

Meghan’s idea is an important one to the Interlake communities surrounding Lake Winnipeg. Indeed, through partnerships with Nutrien, the East Interlake Conservation District, and Ducks Unlimited Canada, to name a few, over 1500 willows were planted in a riparian area. These willows will play an important role in soil erosion, and the filtration of water going to the lake. Moreover, thanks to Meghan this project demonstrates the power of partnerships!

The Prevention of the Eutrophication and Soil Erosion

2015 Virden, Manitoba, Canada

With the help of fellow students and staff at Virden Collegiate, Ashley and Kelsey proposed a simple and important idea to support their watershed: planting a shelterbelt.

“The issue we would like to focus on is the issue of water quality caused by erosion of soil due to a lack of trees and the eutrophication of lakes due to runoff from fertilized farmer’s fields as well as livestock fields, golf courses, residential homes that use fertilizers on their grass, and improperly treated sewage.”

With such a large list to tackle, the team looked to the power of trees.

“The roots of the trees will prevent soil erosion from the fields surrounding Gopher Creek, as well as protect its banks from collapsing.”

Working with their local conservation district, the Upper Assiniboine River Conservation District, and with the help of Nutrien, the students were able to successfully plant their shelterbelt, improving life for all.

Beautiful Bee Box

2015 Berthoud, Colorado, USA

This duo has installed a pair of Italian honey bee hives near the foothills of Loveland. The reason they chose to implement this idea is to do with both the declining population of the honey bee as well as the recent flooding that has occurred in the Thompson River watershed. Due to the fact that honey bees are responsible for over 80% of vegetation pollination they essentially allow plants to produce and spread faster, thus helping ensure that growth occurs where it was washed near the river. This will prevent the amount of soil erosion around rivers and help keep the water cleaner.
The benefit to raising the bee population in North America, specifically the Midwest, is to ensure a greener landscape with more vegetation, assisting in cleaning both the air as well as the water in the Little Thompson watershed. A large amount of vegetation around a body of water prevents the amount of soil erosion entering the body of water, and keeps the water cleaner.

Using Bats to Stop Bugging the Poudre

2015 Greeley, Colorado, USA

In order to reduce the use of pesticides in their city this team sought to put up bat houses around the Poudre Learning Center area. They discovered the Greeley parks and recreation department spends $50,000 annually on pesticides alone. Strategically, the main focus of the project is to reduce the amount of pesticide sprayed around Greeley. By hosting bats such as the Brazilian free-tailed bat, little brown bat, and the Canyon bat who all share a common appetite for mosquitoes, the population of mosquitoes will go down naturally. Mosquitoes can carry and spread diseases which factors greatly into why the city puts so much into controlling the population of the mosquitoes. However, the chemicals in pesticides have negative consequences such as affecting human health if ingested and the health of the entire watershed. To best reduce the use of pesticides the students wanted to show that it is best to work with nature to control the mosquito population and prevent chemical compounds from getting into the water. By raising awareness and showing the city bats can help control the mosquito population, the students hope that the use of pesticides will go down. It is crucial to protect our local watersheds for not only ourselves, but the generations to follow.
Eventually the mosquito population in the summer will rise, but the bat homes around the Poudre River will host the bats that feed on mosquitoes. Instead of using $50,000 worth of pesticides Greeley can decrease the amount of sprayed pesticides. The surrounding environment will benefit greatly especially the watershed because significantly fewer chemicals run into the water. Fewer chemicals equal healthier aquatic biomes and species – including humans – which survive on the Poudre watershed.

I Thought I Saw A Tweety Bird

2015 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Jocelyn Lalach from St. Edward School is passionate about birds and is sharing that passion with others! Birds are an integral part of our watershed. Indeed, without them, many functions that they provide would no longer exist. Jocelyn explored the benefits of healthy bird populations and their benefits to the South Saskatchewan River Watershed such as reducing insect populations and seed transportation in the river valley.

Birds provide many benefits to our local watershed! Through transporting seeds in the river valley, Student winning photo saskatchewan student action project birds help new native shrubs grow and root in the riparian area providing wildlife habitat and other ecological services. The riparian area is the zone along river or creek banks close to the water. This zone needs strong and healthy shrubs to help keep pollutants out of our water ways. Plants in the riparian area slow down water and help it infiltrate and filter through soil and root systems before entering our watershed. This process reduces the amount of runoff entering our water ways and helps to prevent pesticides, fertilizers, and other pollutants from entering our watershed. As an added benefit, these shrubs and their root systems provide structure for the soil along river and creek banks which prevent erosion. Lastly, birds eat insects. The healthier our bird populations in our watershed the more insects they eat and the less pesticides we use to control them ourselves!

Jocelyn developed a curriculum based program called “I Thought I Saw a Tweety Bird” that educates students in grades 2 and 3 about the different types of bird species found in the South Saskatchewan River Basin. She developed a bird unit that is available online here: http://ycojchill.wix.com/birds-unit with all the necessary tools for teachers and students to learn about the importance of birds to their watershed. Jocelyn has left her website up online for teachers to access the curriculum material.