Starting a Compost System on Campus

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Compost system
Samuel and Kirby from The MET Sacramento High School developed a solid project to start and maintain a composting system on campus to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfills. By composting organic waste, the school will reduce its contribution to greenhouse gasses, particularly methane, which is produced by anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in landfills. The team started to implement their plan in the spring of 2022, and will continue to educate and engage students in the composting process during the upcoming school year. Caring for Our Watersheds funding helped them purchase the bins for food waste collection and composting, as well as materials needed to maintain the compost, and promote use of the system.

Student lifting top of compost bin Student standing behind compost bin Students holding $400 environment contest winner cheque

Pollinator and Drought-tolerant Garden

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Girl planting drought tolerant plants
Georgia and Rory, students at George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences, are concerned about the decline of pollinators. Through their research, they learned that loss of habitat, as well as pesticide drift are some of the threats to pollinator populations. They wanted to create a pollinator friendly habitat free of pesticides to support native bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Georgia and Rory, well aware of the multi-year drought in California knew they wanted to create their garden with water conservation in mind. Their garden plan included the use drought tolerant plants and drip irrigation to efficiently water them to help them get established. The pair also used their artistic creativity to create an enticing, beautiful space. The team utilized social media to share their project, plan, and progress and to educate others in their community on how to help pollinators thrive.

Student painting fence Students posing in front of drougtht-tolerant garden

Composting on Campus

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA

Students setting up composing materials
Alice and Nicholas, student at George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences, were concerned about the food waste being generated on their school’s campus. Through their research, they learned that when this food waste ends up buried in a landfill, it undergoes anaerobic decomposition, which releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In their proposal, they enthusiastically declared “we believe that we can create a compost system that will help make our school green and educate others on the power of composting.” Alice and Nic reached out to the local community compost collective, ReSoil Sacramento, to get advice and learn about different techniques and options to compost at school. They bought collection bins and created signage to collect food waste at lunch. They also bought tools they needed to transport the food waste to the garden area, as well as materials such as straw to aid in the composting process. As traditional compost bins can fill quickly, ReSoil suggested composting some of the food scraps directly into existing garden beds, which proved successful. Alice and Nic were grateful for funding from Nutrien, which allowed them to learn from community experts, implement their project, and engage fellow students in the process.

Students standing behind composting bins

Campus Pollinator Garden

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA
Girl sitting beside created habitat for native pollinators
Josephine Rios and Natalie Durling, students at George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences, took on a project that both beautified their school’s campus and created habitat for native pollinators. The duo, aiming to attract a variety of pollinators to the school garden, did their research (or “beesearch” as they called it) on specific species to plant and bee hotel to install. They also installed drip irrigation in their plot, which will serve as a demonstration garden highlighting water-wise, and pollinator friendly landscaping practices.

Girls working in garden Student giving thumbs up near habitats for native pollinators

Campus Tree Planting

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA

Grant High School students Mai Lee, Husia Lee, and Visay Phasavath proposed and implemented a drought-tolerant tree planting on their school’s campus. The trees will provide shade, help capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as create an attractive space on campus for students to gather. The team reached out to Sacramento Tree Foundation for assistance, and the organization provided trees, as well as guidance on tree species, planting techniques, and proper care of the saplings. Fellow students Joscelyn Lor, Tatiana Blackmon, Ariya Vue’s proposal also helped obtain funding and materials needed to make the tree planting project a success.

1. Students digging hole for a tree 2. Students planting a tree 3. Students posing for camera

Promenade Pollinator Planting

2022, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA

Before green house on empty field

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.

Students shovelling soil into wheel barrows Students working with soil in raised garden bed Student with hoes watering raised garden bed

After green house with raised garden beds and totem

Project Yellow

2022, Selkirk, MB, Canada

Jerzy is a student from Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School in Selkirk, MB. When she was posed with the question, “What can I do to improve my watershed?”, she was buzzing with ideas!

With Project Yellow, I hoped to improve the state of our watershed’s bee population. In order to do so, I handed out packets of Anise Hyssop seeds; a plant very attractive to pollinators. My workplace gave me permission to hand out a packet with each sale, which helped me give away over 80 of the 100 packets. Whilst explaining my project to customers, they showed a genuine interest in helping. It only took two shifts to clear out the seeds! The rest of the seeds were given to friends and family. I am very pleased with the level of community involvement as it will take one to save our watershed.

The Story of Frog Plains

2022, West Kildonan Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Two girls kneeling down looking at grass
When Breanna and Rae from West Kildonan Collegiate in Winnipeg, MB heard that a protected wetland in their area was not being upkept, they decided they wanted to do something about it! They organized a group of students to go in, pick some weeds and invasive species, and plant some new native species to bring the area back to its former glory!

“We want to help and connect our community by bringing back the beauty that this wetland once was.”
Two girls standing with plants growing in pots
The girls partnered with Edmond Partridge Middle School so that they could educate the next generation and have them help with the project. They also made a partnership with the Aki Learning Centre who donated some plants including Narrow Leaf Sunflower and Purple Prairie Clover. They also got some extra little packages of seeds to give to students to plant elsewhere in the community and spread their project beyond Frog Plains!

Our Blooming Watershed

2021, Greeley Central High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Kimberly Gonzalez Jimenez
Pollinators are an important component to the health of our watersheds. They contribute to the diversity of our watershed and the existence of our plants. Pollinator gardens as recommended by the U.S. Forest Services and the United States Department of Agriculture as pollinators are known to help boost pollinator populations. That’s why Kimberly decided to plant a local pollinator garden. The garden was planted within the Pouder River Panch Natural Area (a city park) in Greeley, Colorado. It includes fourteen different species of flowers and plants to attract pollinators. This will in result cater to our declining pollinator population and provide them with a chance at steading their numbers so they can continue serving our watersheds and us!

Bracelets for Bats

2021, Greeley Central High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Saria Mowrer
Saria found that the population of Little Brown Bats has decreased 90% in the past 20 years alone, and scientists predict that they may be extinct by the year 2030. This is due to habitat loss as well as a fungal disease known as White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) that has been wiping them out by the thousands. WNS wakes bats up during hibernation, and causes them to lose the fat that they had built up to survive the winter. It is caused by pollution in and near bats habitats, so the best way to combat it is to provide clean habitats for local bat colonies. Continue reading…