2.1 Water Conservation/pollution prevention
schoolyard litter removal
On a cool Saturday morning in May, a small group of Waterloo families came together to clean-up the Waterloo environment. Not only did they remove the litter from school grounds, they also walked to the nearby stream and removed litter from there as well. In addition, a lot of invasive plants were pulled from the school grounds.
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Rain garden
Fourth grade Green Team students learn about rain gardens and the importance of rain gardens when helping to prevent pollution and conserve water. In an attempt to understand the effect that our community has on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, students conducted a "walking field trip" to the stream just off-site Waterloo school grounds. They followed the run-off pathway from the proposed conservation landscape area to the stream. Once at the stream, students discussed how our actions can have an effect on the Bay itself.
Students studied rain gardens and native plants throughout the year. In the Spring, students were able to put their knowledge into play by creating a conservation landscape. Thank you to the folks at READY for your help and support!
Students Branching out
Also in the Spring of 2015, all fourth grade students, as well as the Green Teams from third and fifth grades, participated in the Students Branching Out program. Students spent a half hour in the classroom learning about the importance of native trees, the steps to planting a tree and the specifics of the five types of native trees provided to Waterloo. Then students spent a half hour outside with support from Howard County and the READY program to plant trees. After a long day, students planted 122 trees.