Watershed Protection Grant - 2003 Projects
2003 Mere Brook Buffer Project -- Brunswick Junior High School
Picture: Student from Brunswick Junior High School dig holes to plant tree saplings in on the banks of Mere Brook.
Laura Hench and her 6th grade students planted a vegetative buffer along the banks of Mere Brook that runs through Brunswick behind the school's playground. By planting the buffer, students would be deterred from playing along the brook's banks and eroding soil that would end up in the water. Through the Maine Stream Team program, students also spent time collecting chemical and biological data used to determine the water quality. Students also went on stream habitat walks and learned about watersheds with the Stream Team coordinators. To educate the public about their tree planting project, students wrote letters to other teachers and administrators at their school asking them to keep students away from the new trees and explaining that they are trying to prevent soil because it hurts the stream.
2003 Temple Stream Buffer Project -- Mt. Blue High School
Students from Doug Hodum's Environmental Science class at Mt. Blue High School planted shrubs to create a buffer along the banks of Temple Stream which flows into the Sandy River in Farmington. Students took on the entire tasks involved in this project from identifying sites with erosion problems, writing the grant application, asking for landowner permission, notifying the town of their work, selecting what types of plants would make a good buffer, and doing the ground work to plant the buffer. Students also designed a sign to place at the project site to inform the public about the work that was completed and why.
Picture: Mt. Blue High School's project work site on Temple Stream in Farmington before they planted a vegetative buffer.
