Submittted by Luke Freeman, Au Gres-Sims High School
As the first community to sign the Lake Huron Forever Pledge, Au Gres is committed to protecting our Michigan waterways. Au Gres-Sims School District, the City of Au Gres Department of Public Works, Huron Pines, and a host of other organizations have teamed up to mitigate the negative effects of stormwater runoff. Using native Michigan plants, a series of 4 green infrastructure installations have been placed at key locations throughout Au Gres to capture stormwater pollutants before they reach the Au Gres River, which drains into Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. Au Gres-Sims High School environmental science students are also conducting research in the school greenhouse, growing native Michigan plants to promote the use of native plants as a low cost, high impact landscaping option.
Using green infrastructure is a low cost, eco-friendly method to capture stormwater runoff pollutants. In an effort to promote environmental stewardship, we hope to serve as a model for other communities and schools, as we all work together to protect our waterways.
Hello, thanks for sharing your story about this effort! Impressive that an outcome of this work is students get to feel they are making a contribution to something that they might not have felt otherwise responsible for. Go nature!
I really like the different media you use to tell the story. One thing I’m taking away from this project but also from some others in the Gallery, is that students are so agile with technology, they can figure out how to create videos. As one presenter said today, we just have to release control as adults. I also like how young people are put in the role of “teacher.” One question I have is: What do you think about the project really impacted students commitment to environmental stewardship and community action?
The full circle nature of this project with students not only designing and installing the green infrastructure projects, but also propagating and growing the plants that were installed, is awesome.
Wow! What an incredible project! I like how the rain gardens and bio-swales are hands-on projects where students can see direct benefits to their local environments. But you’re also connecting these plantings to larger water quality and watershed issues which is awesome.
The videos are really good, and I can tell this project is well supported by community partners and funding outside the school district. I would love to hear more about how you were able to tap into these resources!