Sustainable Food Garden

2014 Portland, Victoria, Australia

Students from Portland Secondary College were finalists in the 2014 Caring for Our Watersheds competition, with their proposal to implement a Sustainable Food Garden that would help supply the community kitchen connected to their school.

This kitchen is used by hospitality students from Portland and Heywood Secondary Colleges, the Re-engagement center and community at large.

The garden has multiple benefits including: reduction in the purchase of packaged goods, less food waste, and increased biodiversity in the Portland community.

Thanks to the Caring for our Watersheds program and community partners the students were able to:

Construct eight raised garden beds filled with edible native and common food plants.
Set up an organic waste recycle system with composting and chickens to sustain the garden and minimize waste.
Conduct native tree and shrub planting around our school to increase biodiversity in the corridor.

The garden has now been in full swing for several months with students maintaining and using the seasonal vegetables and herbs. The students are also composting their food waste and collecting eggs from the chicken coop!

Regular bird monitoring also takes place to keep track of the wildlife within the school grounds.

Bottle Filling Stations in Hockey Rinks

2014 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Erik Rogalka from Garden City Collegiate wanted to do something to conserve water in the community. He proposed installing water bottle filling stations at the new hockey rink.

“By all the teams and parents filling their bottles using one of these stations the amount of water that would be saved would be huge. Another great thing about these stations is that it lowers the amount of disposable bottles being used. Instead of buying disposable bottles, spectators and players can use this bottle filling station. This would decrease the amount of disposable bottles that are thrown out at hockey rinks.”

“This project would be a really good way to help preserve our watershed, even if it is just in a small way. Everyday people are wasting water and using plastic bottles in hockey rinks without giving it a second thought. People rarely think about the consequences of their actions and these bottle filling stations would help save our watershed from carelessness. This project is one hundred percent approved by the community centre and is relativity low in cost. For these reasons I think this would be an excellent plan to implement.”

Erik can now proudly say that through the Caring for Watersheds contest, he was able to make this happen!

Starting a Composting System for the School Garden

2014 Antelope, California, USA

Antelope High School student Chelsea Morgan wanted to make use of the large amount of green waste produced by the school garden. In the old system, students were throwing away this green waste directly into the trash dumpster. She was concerned that the green waste in the landfill was a wasted resource and would only add to the production of excess methane. She wrote a proposal to build a compost bin for the waste, and students in the People for the Planet club helped to implement her project. When green waste in composted, it produces a very important, nutrient-rich soil additive for the garden.

The students built a wooden 3-bin compost system conveniently located adjacent to the school garden. Once the original green waste has been in the first bin for a few months, students will transfer it to the next bin for further decomposition, which will also open up space for the new green waste.

In addition to providing fertilizer for the garden and reducing the amount of waste being sent to the landfill, the compost system will be used as an educational tool for all of the Biology and Environmental Science classes at Antelope High.

Vermicomposting at the MET

2014 Sacramento, California, USA

In researching ways to improve their local watershed, Molly Crofoot and Loki Spera became very interested in the concept of vermicomposting, or worm composting. Different than traditional composting, worm composting is a process that uses red earthworms to consume organic waste, producing castings, soil conditioner, and a topsoil additive. While there are other ways to break down things such as food and yard waste, vermicomposting is a lot easier for people who live/ work in a place with very little outdoor room. Their project proposal was to build a worm bin at their school, The MET Sacramento High School, and educate students on its use. Specifically, they would train members of the Garden Club, who would take over general maintenance of the bin, and use the soil created to add to the garden beds.

Vermicomposting has many benefits for the environment. The process creates a nutrient rich soil, which helps grow a healthy, sustainable garden without the need for chemical fertilizers. It also builds healthy soil structure that reduces watering needs and absorbs runoff, protecting streams from erosion and pollution. Finally, it makes use of food waste that would otherwise enter landfills. Project funds from Nutrien helped Crofoot and Spera purchase a durable, multi-level bin and host a lunch workshop for students on vermicomposting, its benefits, and how to maintain the bin.

Red Maple Seedling Fundraiser

2014 Trenton, Ontario, Canada

Chantal, a grade 8 student from Murray Centennial Public School won fourth place for her “Red Maple Seedling fundraiser” proposal. Chantal’s idea was to hold a fundraiser at her school to sell Red Maple Seedlings and use the profits to purchase a water bottle filling station for her school. Chantal’s goal was to increase awareness about the importance of planting trees in our watershed and educate her school community about the negative impacts of disposable water bottles to the environment.

Chantal purchased 320 Red Maple Seedlings for $175.00 with the guidance of Tree’s Ontario and financial assistance from Murray Centennial Public School. The fundraiser was held in April 2014 and each seedling was sold for $5.00 generating a revenue of $1475.00. The profits from the fundraiser cover the cost of purchasing one water bottle filling station for the school.

With an additional $1305.00 from Caring for Our Watershed Implementation Funds, Murray Centennial Public School will be receiving a second water bottle filling station to meet the needs of the school with population of 600 staff and students.

The two water bottle filling stations were installed March 2015.

Composting System for Valley High

2014 Elk Grove, California, USA

Members of the Valley High School Green Club were concerned about the excessive amount of recyclable and compostable material that was being thrown into their school dumpsters each day. As this landfill waste can eventually lead to water contamination and problems in the watershed, they wanted to address this issue and implement a program to collect this material and remove it from the waste stream. The compostable material would then be added to bins to produce soil for the school garden they are starting.

Since this is a large task, Green Club members also enlisted the support of the ILS and Special Education students to transport the compostable waste (food scraps and cardboard lunch trays) after each lunch period. The compostable material is taken to the garden area where students have set up 4 compost bins, purchased with Nutrien project funds. Students also gather grass clippings to add to the compost bins.

Through the process, students found that the cardboard lunch trays do not break down easily, so they purchased a chipper/shredder to shred the cardboard into fine pieces that decompose more readily. The Nutrien implementation funds also helped students purchase other tools to help maintain the compost, such as a hose to keep it moist, and shovels and gloves to turn the compost.

During this first year of the new compost system, it is estimated that over 1000 cardboard lunch trays have been composted in this manner, reducing the amount of waste sent to the landfill. The Valley High Green Club anticipates improving and expanding upon the system as they move forward.

Battery Recycling

2014 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Batteries need to be disposed of in a proper manner. Orit Gluskin wanted to make sure her fellow students knew more about battery disposal, and the dangers of batteries in the landfill.

“The elements that are put in batteries range from common acids to toxic metals. The reason we shouldn’t just dispose of batteries in the regular garbage is because under high temperature, pressure or even when untouched, they can leak toxins. If they leak into the soil they will simply follow underground water into the closest water supply. These toxins are harmful to both organisms and the environment.”

Thanks to a contribution from Nutrien, Orit was able to start a school-wide battery recycling awareness campaign. Orit created posters and student surveys to learn more about her classmate’s knowledge around battery disposal. She also held a recycling drive where students could bring in their batteries, which were taken to a reputable e-waste facility in Winnipeg. Students were rewarded for their participation with entries for gift cards.

Greening our Cafeteria

2014 Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

Students at Gimli High School have taken an environmental interest in their school cafeteria. They’ve monitored the amount of waste produced by their cafeteria and decided they wanted to look for better options to reduce that waste. Carly, Tristin, and Hayden proposed testing compostable and paper plates to see if they would hold up in their cafeteria and if they will break down in their school’s compost bins. Once their testing is complete, they plan to work with the school to see what kind of changes can be made to make their cafeteria greener.

“The materials that these various plates, cups, and cutlery are currently made of will either never decompose, or will sit in our landfills for a minimum of 50-80 years. According to environmentalhealthnews.org, plastic in landfills can leach harmful chemicals that spread into groundwater. This means that not only are we littering our earth and filling our landfills, but we are infecting our groundwater, drinking water quality, and eventually our beautiful Lake Winnipeg.”

With a donation from Nutrien, the trio was able to purchase various brands and types of plates to experiment with. This is a great first step in their journey to a greener cafeteria!

Switching to Eco Friendly Cleaning Products

2014 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

If you can’t pronounce the ingredients in cleaning products, how can you tell if they’re going to be safe? Stacey Amos and Tristan Harper wondered this when they started looking at the types of cleaning products found in schools.

“We need to think about the impact on our water because all of these liquids end up going down the drain. These lead to our waters, and include chemicals such as loramine oxine, myristamine oxide, and styrene. How do we know these are safe for our lakes if we can’t even pronounce it?”

The team proposing switching their school’s cleaning products to eco-friendly versions that don’t contain harmful ingredients. Thanks to Nutrien, they were able to purchase classroom kits of cleaning products and re-usable cloths. This means “safer products and less pollution. Time to get cleaning!”

White Contamination

2014, San Andres de Giles, Buenos Aires, Argentina

This project aims to educate the community about the importance of reducing the use of plastic bags, and the dangers associated with use of these bags.

The first stage of the project was to raise public awareness through various media. The students prepared informative messages and used the school radio to spread their communications. The second stage of the project was to present their messages to local and provincial authorities.

To the students’ excitement, the Mayor of the County (Municipality) signed the ordinance prohibiting the use of plastic bags starting January 1, 2015!