Project Description: 

Looking outside of our classroom window there is a large hill that slopes down to our building. This space gets standing water after rain and is a bit of an eyesore even when there isn’t standing water. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to help students learn about different examples of green infrastructure with a focus on rain gardens and how they address larger stormwater management issues. Before our work begins, students will map the flow of water next to our classroom after a rain event. We will collectively look at their drawings and talk about ideas of how this problem may be solved based on what we learned about GI. Once they have determined that this spot would be perfect for a rain garden we can start the planning! In our planning students will learn about the benefits of native plants and incorporate this into their plan.

Fostering Lifelong Stewardship:

I was amazed at how  excited students were to get involved. Not everyone was pumped about planting the plants or digging holes, but if not, they got excited to illustrate native species or learn about invasive species. There’s no way they will be able to look at plants the same way now that they know they have a greater purpose.

Partners:

Plaster Creek Stewards, Revery Landscape Architecture Studio

Teachers:

Thea Van Goor, 4th, 5th, & 6th Grades, All Subjects; Jeff Boggs, 4th, 5th, & 6th Grades, All Subjects; Jessica Gamble, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Grades, All Subjects; Rita, Kindergarten, All Subjects

Students:

48

Funder:

Wege Foundation

Showcase Video: (Found on YouTube page)