White Oak Elementary Students Discover that Going Green is FUN!

For National Environmental Education Week 2009, the North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF) helped students at local schools in Cape Carteret, N.C. discover that going green for Earth Day could actually be fun.

Teaming up with 5th graders at White Oak Elementary School and volunteers from a local business, NCCF staff led the year-long planning and construction of a rain garden in front of the school. The rain garden is one of four NCCF has underway at area schools.

Students at White Oak discovered they could make a real difference in the water quality of the nearby creek by simply planting native plants around their school.

"A rain garden helps the environment by using native plants to help filter the rain coming out of the gutters before it goes into the creek," said one student, wearing a T-Shirt that read "I Love Rain Gardens" and "Tough Guys Garden."

The rain garden will capture storm water runoff from the school's rooftops and parking lot, reducing discharge into the adjacent Deer Creek and Bogue Sound.

Mindi Waterman, specialist for academically and intellectually gifted students with the county school system, worked with NCCF to arrange the rain garden planting. She said the 14 students selected to assist with the Earth Day planting were chosen based on an essay they wrote about being a friend of the environment.

"It's important to start teaching kids at an early age that there are simple things you can do to help our planet," she said.

According to Lexia Weaver with NCCF, the rain garden wasn't just important in terms of fostering a sense of environmental stewardship among the students, but it provided opportunities for hands-on science learning.

"Rain gardens also provide aesthetically pleasing landscaping, natural habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife and promote sustainable design practices while encouraging environmental stewardship and community pride," Weaver said.

Students who worked on the garden this year will have the opportunity to teach younger students how to maintain the garden next year.

The rain garden project was funded through a partnership with a local business which sponsored the planning, design, construction of the garden as well as the purchase of plants and materials. Sixteen local volunteers were on hand to assist students with the planting.

Submitted by Sarah Phillips, North Carolina Coastal Federation

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