Water Tolerance 101

Water Tolerance

2019, Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Branden Wiechert, Trey Grass
Branden and Trey worked towards increasing the number of drought tolerant and native plants in their communities to decrease the use of water. They believe high school students are key to improving their watershed. They educated their peers on the issue and the benefits from using native, drought tolerant plants. Branden and Trey passed along this information through the flyers they posted around their school and community and hosted several plant sales that were open to the public. Their project helped their community cut their water bills, decrease their water use, increase proper wildlife habitats, and increase groundwater recharge.
Water Tolerance

Energy Saving Campaign

Energy

2019, Fossil Ridge High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Gabriela Carcasson, Madison Torrey, Jack Kraus, David Casey
65% of our energy comes from coal. Acid mine drainage contaminates watersheds as oxidized substances runoff into bodies of water and change the pH. In addition to computers, printers, projectors, and TVs, there are numerous appliances used by teachers, such as coffeemakers, lamps, microwaves, and mini fridges. These students focused on educating their peers and teachers about energy usage. Teachers were surveyed on their energy use, electrical timers for appliances were distributed, and stickers were placed around the school to educate peers and teachers. This group of students also presented at the Environmental Leadership Summit –a sustainability conference for students all over Northern Colorado put on by Fossil’s environmental club—where they handed out stickers and timers.
Energy

Small, Green, and Mean

Small Green Mean

2019, Union Colony, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Jessica Mora
Emerald ash borer is an invasive species in Colorado and is known to kill ash trees. These invasive species were detected in Boulder, Colorado in 2013 and are expected to spread to Greeley threatening 15,000 native trees. Jessica’s goal was to educate the public about these invasive species and what they could do to improve their watershed. She also encouraged the public to plant native trees. Jessica designed tri-fold boards that were put on display at the elementary and preparatory school. She also presented to Union Colony forestry class on this topic. She then designed a pamphlet that explained what a watershed is, the emerald ash borer issue, and what everyone can do to help. Over 200 pamphlets were passed out across Greeley. This pamphlet also included a drawing that residents could enter for a chance to win a free tree to plant in their yard. Jessica did an amazing job drawing awareness to this topic by posting on Facebook and wrappin ash trees with ribbons. Jessica didn’t stop there. She also attended Greeley’s Arbor day and planted a crab-apple tree in Lincoln Park and distributed ten other trees to residents that had entered the drawing. These trees will help make up for the inevitable loss of ash trees in our community.
Small Green Mean

Poopy Problems

2019, Greeley Central High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Alexandria Sherman-Sutton
Dogs drop a total of 390 million pounds of poop per year in Colorado alone. That is equivalent to 4,126 dump trucks full of waste. When the waste decomposes, it runs-off into local rivers and lakes polluting streams, rivers, and local waterways. That whole process not only causes pollution, but also carries bacteria, pesticides, and diseases. In water samples taken from urban areas, studies have found that 20 to 30 percent of the bacteria in water traces back to dog waste. That same bacteria pollutes the air and our water. A study of air samples concluded that up to 50 percent of bacteria originates from dog poop. For her project, Alexandria installed 12 dog bag stations around her community along with signs that educate the public about picking up after their dogs. She also raised an additional $700 to install another 10 stations in her watershed. These stations can be found at these locations: Poudre River Trail Corridor, Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area, Signature Bluffs Natural Area: Greeley Parks & Natural Areas, Josephine B. Jones Park & Open Space, Poudre Ponds Recreational Fishery, and Island Grove Regional Park.
Poopy Problems

BUZZING WITH BIODIVERSITY

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Buzzing
After numerous technology and scheduling issues, the Buzzing with Biodiversity project was a success! The plan was subject to change from the beginning, but the goal of spreading awareness and action throughout the community did not. Thanks to the Caring for our Watersheds project, there in now a widespread knowledge of the importance of pollinators in Wyoming Ohio, and thanks to the project funding, Wyoming is likely to become a hotspot for botanical biodiversity in the upcoming summer and for many summers to come. Multiple unexpected changes were made, but these changes all have one thing in common: they increased the impact and efficiency of the project.

Samuel Mota and Lucas Plante’s plan had always started with education of the importance of pollinators within Wyoming High School, but achieving the goal of widespread action through the school was unexpected. It seemed that everywhere the project was mentioned, people were excited to help. This was consistent from presentation to classroom, however the expected participation from the pamphlet was low. To make sure that all the bee houses and seed packets went to good use and were not wasted, A few bee houses were put in the front of Mrs. Majors’ classroom with seed packets to go with them and a message was written on the board encouraging students to take them home and use them in their own yards. To much surprise, by the end of the day, not only had the bee houses from the board been taken home, but all eighteen that had been brought in were gone.

To see this much participation from the students was astounding and brought about the final change that was made to the plan. It was not expected that all recipients of the pamphlet that was to be handed out would request seed packets, but after so many were given out in the classroom, there were not enough remaining to be able to assure that all of those who requested seed packets would receive them. Subsequently the pamphlet part of the plan was cancelled and taken off the budget. This also solved the problem of having no simple way of being contacted by all who wanted seed packets. The remainder of bee houses will go to those who requested at the presentation, several teachers at Wyoming high school, and Gorman Heritage Farm. The goals of educating the Wyoming community and encouraging action throughout it were achieved.

Pilot Mound Rain Gardens

2019, Pilot Mound, Manitoba, Canada

Colin Hildebrand, Joryn Buchanan, Donovan Kimball, and Riley Kimball are all students at Pilot Mound Collegiate in Pilot Mound, MB. When they were posed with the question of what they could do to improve their watershed, their thoughts took them outside to their schoolyard.

“Our problem lies in the excess water that our school ground produces and contends with… So how do we help manage excess water and potential pollutants?”

In speaking with the school’s custodian, they were able to see where drainage water flowed, accumulated, and moved across the school property. They realized that this runoff water could be picking up contaminants and sending them into local waterways and could also be contributing to flooding issues in their area. They approached their local conservation district (CD), the Pembina Valley CD, to discuss ways to mitigate these issues. Together, they came up with the idea of rain gardens along the natural swale running through the school yard to filter runoff, increase water infiltration, and reduce pollutants entering nearby waterways.

“We [will] create three rain gardens [along the existing swale]… The rain gardens will slow the water using berms, and the native plants will create more infiltration into the soil due to their large root systems.”

Seed Bombs for Students

2019, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Holly & Tori, students at Henry G. Izatt (HGI) Middle School in Winnipeg, MB, were concerned about plant diversity, invasive species, and bee populations. They came up with a plan to address all three issues: seed bombs! Their plan includes educating young students at an elementary school before they enter HGI by providing them with seed bombs and a little workshop on how to plant them and what the benefits are.

“This is important for our community because our school has recently placed beehives on the school roof. We are worried that the bees will not have enough pollen to support the ecosystem and their hive. Bees are important to our watershed because they pollinate plants and crops… Planting wildflowers around the community will provide food for the bees to help grow our bee population and raise awareness.”

Native Plant Stormwater Garden

2019, Timonium, Maryland, USA

The Green Club of Ridgely Middle School’s plan for improving the quality of the Chesapeake watershed is growing a stormwater garden that contains plants native to Maryland. The people involved in this proposal are Riya Mahale and Sunny Shen. The garden’s purpose is to absorb some of the runoff that eventually ends up in the Chesapeake Bay. According to National Geographic, runoff is an overflow of water. It occurs when the land is unable to absorb any more water and the excess water runs across the land, eventually ending up in a body of water, like a bay or river. In this case, it is the Chesapeake Bay.

Stormwater Garden Chesapeake Bay student action Unfortunately, whatever pollutants the runoff contained also ends up in the Chesapeake Bay. This damages the Chesapeake watershed and the ecosystems that rely on it.

This proposal aims to improve the quality of our watershed by reducing the amount of runoff that feeds into the Bay. The garden would be at the base of a hill at Ridgely Middle School where excess water would collect after rain. There, the plants in the garden would be able to efficiently soak up some of the runoff and the pollutants in it before it reaches the Chesapeake.

Stormwater Garden Chesapeake Bay student action

The garden is going to be completely made up of plants native to Maryland. Having a garden completely compiled of native plants means that there won’t be a risk of invasive plants spreading and harming the native ecosystem. The garden would be able to support those ecosystems native to Maryland. Students at Ridgely Middle would also have exposure to native wildlife. The garden will be quite large, as it will have an area of 100 ft2 and a perimeter of 20 feet.

For a project so beneficial to the watershed and its ecosystems, it is relatively uncostly if one already has a basic set of gardening tools. Because all the plants are native, there is no risk of invasion and native ecosystems are supported. Native stormwater gardens are not only an environmentally conscious and simple way of reducing watershed pollution, but they are also practical, making them a good choice for helping watersheds and the species that rely on them.

Project Nature

2019, Berlin, Maryland, USA

Ten students from Berlin Intermediate School (BIS) (Heydein, Makai, Amber, Shane, Brandon, Brooklyn, Sage, Domnic, Lilah, Declan) created Project Nature in the Spring of 2019. The goal of Project Nature was to assess BIS’ school grounds and implement best management practices to improve their local Coastal Bays’ watershed. After weeks of research, democratically voting, and schoolground surveys, the students decided to undertake a three-part plan.

Plant a pollinator garden to promote native plants and encourage bees, birds, bats, and bugs to use the space.
Revitalize a neglected school trail through pine forest. This trail will be used as an outdoor learning space for teachers to bring their classes. The Project Nature students will clear the trails of common green briar, mulch the pathway, and plant native plants at the entrance.
Plant native trees around the otherwise open school grounds. These trees will provide needed shade and work as absorbers of stormwater runoff from the surrounding impervious surfaces.

Following the completion of their three-part project, students will create flyers to inform their student body and teachers of Project Nature. Their project video is also available for years to come on YouTube, so teachers and parents can view what the 2019 Project Nature students implemented to make their school grounds more environmentally friendly.

Project RORG (Run Off Rain Garden)

2019, Hernandon, Virginia, USA

Project RORG (Run Off Rain Garden)

For several months, David, Elizabeth, Pranith, Tadek, Shamiya, Kheya and Tapthi, who make up Team RORG (Run Off Rain Garden) have been researching, designing and implementing their project.

The two original sites were chosen because of they were in an appropriate spot for a rain garden and were cleared by Miss Utility for excavation. However, after boring multiple spots to test the soil, it was determined the soil was too rocky for a rain garden.

The benefits of the project are a significant amount of future run-off in the project area watershed will be captured by the hybrid rain garden where sediment and pollutants will be removed, and most of the water will have time to percolate into the ground rather than rushing the Horsepen Creek, causing additional erosion.

Project RORG (Run Off Rain Garden)

Three additional sites were chosen, all of which receive run-off from uphill areas. The three sites were cleared by Miss Utility and soil bore tests were performed. Due to the rockiness of the soil it was decided that a modification off the current design would be best. After additional research, a hybrid design featuring coconut fiber biologs as check dams was adopted.

Technical assistance and on-site consultation has been given by Mr. Daniel Schwartz, a soil scientist with the NoVa Soil & Water Conservation District, who has also arranged a survey of the current project site.