Grant will expand Schoolyard Science in Nature to Meriden middle schools
$15,000 grant will fund bioswales, reducing river pollution and forming “living classrooms”
April 30, 2018 – Meriden sixth graders will design and study pollution-filtering gardens that reduce harmful runoff into the Quinnipiac River right in their own schoolyards, thanks to a $15,000 grant that will bring a Connecticut Audubon Society program to new two schools this fall.
The Quinnipiac River Fund, a permanent fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, awarded the grant to the Connecticut Audubon Society to expand its Schoolyard Science in Nature program to Meriden’s Lincoln Middle School and Washington Middle School. Funding will support the installation of bioswales and native plant and pollinator gardens that will reduce pollutants reaching the river.
The schoolyard installations will double as “living classrooms” where students will experience conservation and the scientific method firsthand. Connecticut Audubon Society will develop curriculum for the program, assist with the design and installation of the bioswales and gardens, and provide teacher training.
Bioswales are landscape features that collect and filter stormwater through native plantings and specialized soil mixes. In cities, surface water runs off pavement, carrying untreated pollutants into rivers. Bioswales capture this runoff and redirect it to the plantings, breaking up and rendering pollutants inert. The plantings can also attract pollinators like butterflies and bees and create habitat for birds and wildlife.
When the new bioswales and gardens are complete, every middle and elementary school in Meriden will have an outdoor learning space. Similar features have already been installed at four of the city’s elementary schools as part of a pilot program with Connecticut Audubon.
About 150 Meriden six graders will participate in the program in the first year. However, the schoolyard installations will become permanent features, used by students and teachers as part of the science curriculum for years to come. Students and teachers will be able to collect data on soil quality, water quality, and biodiversity and to share their information.
The schoolyard project ties into larger conservation initiatives in Meriden, including the restoration of Harbor Brook and a new downtown park that serves as a flood basin for the brook, a tributary of the Quinnipiac River. Students will see the link between runoff prevention in their schoolyards and related efforts in the city.
Chosen as the region’s best environmental education program by the New England Environmental Education Alliance, the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Schoolyard Science in Nature program consists of hands-on, inquiry-based activities in earth and life sciences, ecology, conservation, and responsible citizenship. Some 60,000 students have participated since its inception in 2012.
The Quinnipiac River Fund, a component fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, improves the health of the Quinnipiac River by funding projects that provide research, conservation and advocacy for the river and its surrounding watersheds.
