Bee Gardens to Promote the Growth of Our Watershed

2018, Berthoud, Colorado, USA

Bee Gardens CO Student Action

Meghan Lucero, Riley Lundgreen, Kelden Cook, Berthoud High School

Erosion and invasive species can be harmful to a watershed because it can destroy soil and use large amounts of water.

In Colorado, Canadian Thistle and Russian Olive can completely replace a natural species. Bees can help these problems as they help pollinate native species which decreases the invasive species in the area.

CO Bee Gardens Student Action

Their project was to create a bee garden that would help increase the population of bees near their school. Meghan, Riley and Kelden created a 20×8 foot garden behind their school in Berthoud that contained perennial bee friendly plants. The resulting garden should increase the bee population in the area while increasing native plants.

BAN THE BAG

2016, Fairfax, VA, USA

Students at Lanier Middle School uncovered a large amount of plastic bags waste in the Accotink Creek Watershed. They learned that plastic bags could kill plants and animals that call the watershed home. Realizing that encouraging recycling was not the answer, as often, recycled materials are repurposed but then eventually end up in a landfill, the students developed a canvas bag program that is part educational program, part conservation. Each Eco-sack comes with information about the health of the watershed and the impact of pollution on water quality.

The proceeds from the Eco-sack sales, which will be sold for $5.00- $8.00 per bag, will be used to purchase Dogwood trees on the Lanier campus to promote biodiversity and improve air quality. Through this solution, residents reduce the amount of waste they generate, learn about the watershed, and promote the environmental quality of their community. Approximately $450 in Nutrien funding will cover the cost of the 300 canvas bags.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2016, Arlington, VA, USA

The students from Meridian Homeschool Club at St. Michael’s Church in Arlington, VA are literally changing the landscape of their community by educating their congregation about the benefits of native plants. Through their research, the students learned about the benefits of native plants and trees to the intricate ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the harm caused by invasive plants such as English Ivy.

Anxious to use their new knowledge, the students connected with their church, which was planning a landscaping project, and became involved in the process. They learned how to identify invasive plants and did a removal project on site. They recommended and purchased $250 of native plants, funded by Nutrien. The church matched this amount to double the plants purchased. After assisting with the community planting, the students did a presentation for the congregation to introduce the new garden and talk about the importance of native plants.

After their presentation, several congregation members requested their assistance to create native gardens at their homes. The students plan to make their first home visit in early June

SEED BOMB

2016, Alexandria, VA, USA

Students at George Washington Middle School are concerned about the impact of pesticides on insects. Alexandria, VA, as many places around the world, has seen a decline in pollinators, specifically bees. Students talked with professors of entomology at Virginia Tech University and identified two interrelated potential causes of bee decline: the decline of native plants was one concern.

After doing further research, the students discovered that many non-native plants require pesticides because they do not have natural defenses against native insect predators. To address both issues in one solution, the students developed the “seed bomb,” a mixer of Leca Clay and wildflower, a native plant. “Seed bombs” will help the environment by increasing native plants in the community, which don’t need pesticides, and preventing pollinators such as, bees, from being harmed by pesticide poisoning. The students plan to distribute the “seed bombs” throughout communities and schools in neighborhoods with large pesticide levels. Each “seed bomb” will include a website address and more information about the project and the effects of pesticides on the watershed. Students have requested $399 to create a website and to support distribution. The website will include a video of the native plants growing from the seeds, as well as more information about the project and the effects of pesticides on the watershed.

CLASSES PLANT GRASSES

2016, Fairfax, VA, USA

Students at Lanier Middle School put a creative twist the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s “Grasses for the Masses” program to connect the concept to the classroom. Students learned that native grasses in the Chesapeake Bay can control and even alleviate toxic chemicals and out-of-balance naturally occurring elements. These grasses play an important role in reversing the Bay’s degradation. Through the Foundation’s program, volunteers grow grasses native to the Bay in their homes for 10-12 weeks with equipment supplied by the Foundation. When the grass is mature, the volunteers meet at a specific location and plant it. The students’ wanted to create an easy way to their peers to take part. By growing the native grasses in science classrooms, the program can be scaled up, increasing the positive impact the program.

Students recruited 7^th grade science teachers to go through the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s free native grasses training program in January, 2017. Every 7^th grade science class at Lanier will be responsible for planting and raising some of the grasses. In May of 2017, the classes will take a field trip to plant the grasses in the Chesapeake Bay. This project will receive $1,500 from Nutrien for the start-up growing kits, which include items such as circulation pumps and heaters.

HAWK NESTING PLATFORMS

2017, MILK RIVER, AB, CANADA

In 2017, Robin Stelten and Brooke Johnston of Erle Rivers High School in Milk River, Alberta implemented their 2015/2016 project “Hawk Nesting Platforms”. Robin and Brooke were concerned about the impact of rodenticides on local raptor populations and wanted to encourage local farmers to decrease the use of rodenticides, instead relying on raptors to control gopher and ground squirrel populations.

When rodenticides are used as a method of pest control, they can often be ingested by predators such as hawks, and be passed up the food chain, leading to bioaccumulation and often death. Second generation rodenticides are widely used in Canada and the USA and are particularly dangerous in the case of accidental ingestion by children, pets and wildlife.

In an effort to encourage raptors to nest in local rural communities, Brooke and Robin enlisted the help of Fortis Alberta to install hawk nesting platforms. In conjunction with education provided to the local community, Brooke and Robin were able to install six hawk nesting platforms just outside their community of Milk River, Alberta. Since the installation of these platforms, hawks have been seen hunting off two of the platforms. It is hoped that raptors will use these structures to nest during the 2017 nesting season.

As the area around Milk River encompasses the nesting and breeding habitat of ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis), a species considered ‘At Risk’ in Alberta, the efforts of these students to increase the local population of this particular raptor species is especially commendable.

My Friend the Hummingbird

2017 Tres Sargentons, San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

EES N°3 Tres Sargentos: Students: Franco Antonio Guarna, Braian Nahuel Cuevas

implementation of my friend the hummingbird The aim of this project is to encourage the return of native birds, by reforesting the Tres Sargentos town with native trees and shrubs. The project focuses on the hummingbird as an emblematic species. The students built a place for the growth of plants that attract birds and create lots of seedlings that, in time, will become trees that attract hummingbirds.

MASON BEE HOUSES

2017 Sacramento, California, USA

MET Sac High School Noah Crockett helps save the bees

Mason Bee House

MET Sacramento High School student Noah Crockett has a passion for entomology and a specific interest in pollinators. Over the past years, he has been interning at the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology and has learned a great deal about the threats to pollinators. Crockett’s project this year focused on providing nest sites for two specific native pollinators, the Mason Bee and Leafcutter Bee (family: Megachilidae). While these bees do not produce honey they are still beneficial for gardens; they are amongst the most productive pollinators and are able to access much smaller flowers than honeybees and bumblebees. Crockett built a dozen bee boxes and distributed them to property owners along the American River. He included instructions on how and where to hang the boxes, as well as seeds for spring flowers to provide additional nectar sources for the bees.

BIRD BOXES FOR CAVITY NESTERS

2015, Sacramento, California, USA

Salma Rosas helps birds in California

When Salma Rosas, of the MET Sacramento High School, was asked how she could “improve her watershed”, she decided to focus on habitat for birds, specifically cavity nesting species such as bluebirds and swallows. Salma learned that in the urban environment of Sacramento, many old, dead trees that would have provided natural cavities for nests for these birds have been removed due to their hazardous and/ or unsightly nature. While this is often necessary for safety, it decreases available habitat. To increase suitable nest sites, Salma decided to build bird boxes and install them at school and at a neighborhood park. Caring for Our Watersheds project implementation funds help her buy wood and supplies to build these boxes

SOAKING UP THE WATER, ONE TREE AT A TIME

2017, HAY LAKES, ALBERTA, CANADA
Tree

Dana Sych and Soren Skaret decided that to help improve their watershed, they would plant green ash trees in their school yard. After much research, the pair decided on Green Ash trees because they grow quickly, require little maintenance, and do well in wet areas but can also survive drought and cold winters- something important in this small Alberta town. They wanted to plant trees in a low spot of the school yard that often is too wet to play in, and becomes a mosquito breeding ground. They thought by planting trees the water could be absorbed, and the trees would have water to drink. Win, win!

The team also made the connection that by adding trees to their school yard, they would be directly helping to improve air quality. They included the younger grades of their school in the tree planting to help educate them about the importance of the environment and taking personal responsibility.

Dana and Soren hope that these trees will be part of their legacy at the school, soaking up the extra water, and providing shade and a wind block to students for years to come.