Rain Garden

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.”

Reusable bags

2012 San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This proposal was to provide a solution to the massive use of plastic bags we use to carry purchased goods, etc. The goal is to replace these plastic bags with reusable cloth bags that are being sold at different stores. By including members of the Local Association to Promote People with Disabilities (APROPDIS) the students aimed to generate an environmental and social benefit. The members of APROPDIS collaborated in the labeling of these reusable bags by adding the supermarket name, the Caring for Our Watersheds and the Institution logos.

These bags are now found in local supermarkets. They are stacked next to a donating box where interested patrons can take a bag and donate money at their discretion. This money is given to the APROPDIS for them to continue designing and “selling” the bags.

The students worked together with another school that had proposed a similar project.

Areco Tree Friends

2012 San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

These students created a club to promote awareness of the environmental benefits of trees in urban areas. They started by institutionalizing the “Club Areco Tree Friends” in their school. First they created a Facebook account where they gathered and shared information about the importance and the environmental functions of trees, including photographs and the good or bad conditions of the local trees. They also published information about environmental activities that are being held and other environmental news. By hanging posters with information and our logo, the students continue to create awareness at school, and the students invited their peers – and anyone else who is interested – to follow them on Facebook.

The students also used their social media platform to promote the photograph contest held by the students of San Antonio school.

The Trees of Our Town

2012 San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Students from N2 Ricardo Pannunzio Secondary School, with special orientation in arts, presented an awareness contest about the local trees.

In order to promote the need to become aware of environmental care, they suggested cultural activities and calendars to spread the word. They prepared a photograph competition with the theme “Local Trees”.

The contest was open to all students of San Antonio de Areco watershed schools. Each student could present up to three photos. More than 120 photos were presented. The 13 winning photographs were chosen by the Jury. These photos were used to create the 2013 calendar that was distributed in the local area (library, schools, museums, etc.)

These 13 winning photographs will be part of the 2013 exhibition of the Museum Las Lilas (in San Antonio de Areco) and, as it was proposed, they will also be displayed at nearby community exhibitions.

In order to broadcast their contest, this team worked side by side with another group of students that also won the CFW contest by creating a Facebook account.

Batty About the Big Brown Bat

2012 Arlington, Virginia, USA

Students at H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program wanted to restore Big Brown Bat habitat in Arlington, noting that bats play an important role in the watershed as pollinators, insect pests predators, and source of natural fertilizer.

Working with bat experts and the staff at Potomac Overlook Regional Park, they developed their own bat box design and built and installed them at the park, mostly using donated materials. They also invited an expert from the Save Lucy the Bat Campaign to lead a school assembly to raise awareness among students about the importance of protecting endangered bats.

Tree Planting Project

2012 Arlington, Virginia, USA

Sixth graders at Kenmore Middle School noticed that the impervious surfaces of the built urban environment – roads, buildings, etc – cause increased storm-water run-off that local streams, including Four Mile Run. They decided they should address the problem by planting more trees to intercept rainfall and reduce run-off. Coordinating with Arlington County’s Landscape Ecologist, they arranged to plant trees, provided by the county, in Bluemont Park near the school campus.

Beads for Seeds

2012 Ponoka, Alberta, Canada

Alyssa Klinger wanted to help improve her watershed by planting trees in the community park and trail system along the Battle River in Ponoka. But this innovative student had more than an idea; she had a plan to make it happen.

The Beads for Seeds project raised money to plant trees by making beaded watershed bracelets and selling them in her community. Alyssa was able to raise hundreds of dollars by selling her bracelets at local sport tournaments, local businesses, the Ponoka Stamped and through friends and family.

By using the money raised from the bracelets, Alyssa was able to purchase 500 spruce plugs from a local nursery. Grade 9 classes from St. Augustine School joined Alyssa at the banks of the Battle River to plant the trees. Even the principal came out to help!

The Battle River, this park, and the town of Ponoka will be enjoying the increase of trees and biodiversity, and decreased erosion for a long time to come because of Alyssa great actions.

Otis and Friends Environmental Prevention Book: “The Problem With Pollution”

2012 Ponoka, Alberta, Canada

Building on their success in the 2011 CFW contest, Katie, Vickie and Melissa from St. Augustine School in Ponoka AB created a second book in the ‘Otis and Friends Environmental Adventures’ book series. The book teaches young children in grades 2-4 about how their positive or negative actions can affect the watershed and what they can do to help it.

This book, which was hand drawn with professional quality, tells the story of Bernie, a rare black-footed ferret. In the story Bernie’s den entrance gets blocked by a pop can which had been thrown out a passing car window. Bernie gets the help of his animal friends and one special little girl to remove the pop can and save his family trapped inside. The little girl realizes how much litter is in the field and works with her family and community to organize a clean-up and to create signage to prevent future littering.

The Black-Footed Ferret fact sheet at the end of the book provides details of this grassland endangered species which is now rare across North America. The book also provides helpful suggestion and facts about protecting ecosystems and preventing litter.

The book printing has been sponsored by Nutrien, Keyera and Grey Wooded Forage Association. 200 copies have been printed to date (July 2012) and will be distributed to all of the Parkland Regional Libraries, as well as through school visits by the Battle River Watershed Alliance.

Native Plant Pollinator Garden

2012 Davis, California, USA

Da Vinci 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.

Soil Microbial Health – The Affect of Soil Amendments on Soil Respiration

2012 Loveland, Colorado, USA

Benjamin Hoyer from Resurrection Christian High School explains that Aldo Leopold said in Sand County Almanac: “What conservation education must build is an ethical underpinning for land economics and a universal curiosity to understand the land mechanism.” Hoyer’s solution was to develop a soils lab module which allows students to connect to their land and water and to further student conservation education. The lab module includes information on soil characteristics, a soils analysis lab, and age appropriate supplemental readings.

“By developing and distributing this lab module students will have the opportunity to become stewards, engaging as citizens in their watershed and building an understanding for their soil.”
-Ben Hoyer

The student module and materials were completed and delivered to the Poudre Learning Center (PLC) for teachers to use during the school school year. The PLC staff said that they had over 14,000 students visit them last year. Hoyer’s hope is that the teachers will consider using the module with their students.