04/22/24 - 117 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/9bh4zbtr
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Schuylkill Action Network Recognizes Students For Protecting Drinking Water
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The Southeastern PA Resource Conservation and Development Council’s Spring-Ford Intermediate School Rainwater Harvesting Project In Montgomery County was selected by Schuylkill Action Network as one of the winners for the 2012 Schuylkill Scholastic Drinking Water Awards in the Schuylkill River Watershed.
Spring-Ford Intermediate School Rainwater Harvesting Project was selected for developing an educational environmental project that helps protect drinking water in the Schuylkill watershed. The award recognizes schools, colleges, and universities that protect drinking water sources through hands-on educational programs, class projects or land management practices.
The Southeastern PA RC&D Council assisted Spring-Ford Intermediate with locating and managing the financial obligations for the project. The project was funded through two grants. Grants for the project came from the Robert L. and Agnes Cook Bard Foundation and Pennsylvania American Water.
Spring-Ford Intermediate School installed a 1,250 gallon rain water harvest system. The rainwater harvest system drains rain water from the roof and goes through a filter to clean it. Blocks made from 100 percent recycled material percolate the water, which then gets pumped up and out onto decorative bubble rocks. The water then seeps through the patio blocks back into the blocks underground and the process starts all over again.
The outdoor learning center is now a focal point for fifth and sixth grade lessons on watersheds and wetlands, sustainability, conservation, water management facilities and water treatment versus rainwater.
“Education plays an enormous part in protecting and restoring the region’s watersheds,” said SEPA RC&D Council Chairman, Dave Thomas. “Schools like Spring-Ford Intermediate School are taking an active role in environmental protection, they are leading by example. Students will learn positive steps they can take to protect the environment and local watershed which they can then share with their families and future generations.”
The 2012 Schuylkill Scholastic Drinking Water Awards will be presented in celebration of National Drinking Water Week, May 7-13. The students initiated innovative approaches to educating other students and the community about source water protection, such as creating a rainwater harvesting system and monitoring water chemistry in streams.
All of the winning projects contribute to protecting the Schuylkill River. The projects were ranked on work content and amount of student engagement in connection with the classroom curriculum. During National Drinking Water Week a small group of Spring-Ford Intermediate students and their teacher Dacia Williams have been asked to attend the Wednesday, May 9 award ceremony and lunch reception at Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association located in Ambler, PA.
SAN was formed in 2003 in an effort to clean up and protect Pennsylvania's Schuylkill River, a source of drinking water for approximately 1.5 million people and its tributaries. It's a coalition of more than 100 organizations.
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5/7/2012 |
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