‘Rain gardens are good for the world’
Students at Crescent Harbor Elementary planted native ferns and moss as part of their rain garden Saturday.
The project, powered by kids and parents from Bobbie Cane’s second and third-grade class, combined science, engineering and plenty of shoveling.
“This is a low impact development to treat pollution,” said Cane.
As Cane explained, the garden is made up of plants that thrive in a wet environment which absorb runoff water from the school’s adjacent parking lot. It acts as a stormwater management tool.
About 10 students spent the sunny afternoon filling in a shallow depression with planting soil. Later, they saw the fruits of their labor as the plants were placed in the ground.
“I’m excited because this is my first time planting,” said third-grader Rosa Simplicianl. She added that she learned “rain gardens are good for the world.”
Cane said that along with making a positive environmental impact, the project showed students how green initiatives can help reduce pollutants reaching Puget Sound.
“I hope they learn to respect the environment and that they can make a difference,” Cane said.
The garden was partly funded by community donations and a $500 grant from the Oak Harbor Educational Foundation.
Saving energy is elementary
A class of second and third-graders at Broad View Elementary decided to go green for Earth Day this year.
The students asked employees across the school district to turn off their lights for at least five minutes and over 250 people participated April 22.
“This was a culmination of a year-long idea,” said teacher Donna Aspery. “Last Earth Day, the students asked, ‘Can we get everyone in the district to do something?’”
The students researched other “green projects,” calculated how many kilowatts per hour the district would save, as well as how much money.
They figured they could save about 10 kilowatts of energy and $32.42. If lights were turned off for five minutes each day over the course of the year, the savings would be 1,873 kilowatts and $5,832.
“We have read about lots of ways kids around the world are making a difference and we did, too,” said student Alana Colvin at a school board meeting.
School board members said they were impressed with the project and the integration of various concepts, such as math and technology.
Aspery said it provided a new perspective for students.
“We have a need to make sure our students grow up to be good world citizens,” Aspery said.
