West Middle School is doing it's part to conserve water and reduce water pollution. Most of the faucets in student bathrooms have automatic shut-off knobs installed on them. Occasionally a faucet may become stuck and not shut off automatically. Whenever this occurs, students report the problem to the nearest adult who contacts a custodian to fix the problem promptly. This prevents students from letting water run when not necessary and reduces waste. Another thing we have done to conserve water is our installation of three rain barrels. These barrels each hold 55 gallons of water which is used to water fresh plantings, water indoor plants, and add water as necesssary to our stream lobby and courtyard solar fountain. The overflow of our rain barrels also helps slow the flow of water from our downspout helping prevent erosion.
We have continued doing many things to prevent or slow polluted water from reaching the Chesapeake Bay. Students have learned how planting native trees, shrubs, and other plants help restore groundwater and filter pollution from runoff. We have continued a hillside reforestation project, installed a chestnut orchard, and installed several rain gardens at selected locations around our school grounds.
Finally, a group of students competed in Disney's Planet Challenge this year completing a project titled: All Streams Lead to the Bay. As part of this project, students researched the water quality in several local streams, installed a model stream with educational signage in our main lobby, wrote a script for a play to be performed for local elementary students, and have submitted a grant to carry out multiple action projects following up on what they learned.
Water Conservation/Pollution Prevention
West Middle School is doing it's part to conserve water and reduce water pollution. Most of the faucets in student bathrooms have automatic shut-off knobs installed on them. Occasionally a faucet may become stuck and not shut off automatically. Whenever this occurs, students report the problem to the nearest adult who contacts a custodian to fix the problem promptly. This prevents students from letting water run when not necessary and reduces waste. Another thing we have done to conserve water is our installation of three rain barrels. These barrels each hold 55 gallons of water which is used to water fresh plantings, water indoor plants, and add water as necesssary to our stream lobby and courtyard solar fountain. The overflow of our rain barrels also helps slow the flow of water from our downspout helping prevent erosion.
We have continued doing many things to prevent or slow polluted water from reaching the Chesapeake Bay. Students have learned how planting native trees, shrubs, and other plants help restore groundwater and filter pollution from runoff. We have continued a hillside reforestation project, installed a chestnut orchard, and installed several rain gardens at selected locations around our school grounds.
Finally, a group of students competed in Disney's Planet Challenge this year completing a project titled: All Streams Lead to the Bay. As part of this project, students researched the water quality in several local streams, installed a model stream with educational signage in our main lobby, wrote a script for a play to be performed for local elementary students, and have submitted a grant to carry out multiple action projects following up on what they learned.