Watershed Protection Grant - 2004 Projects
2004 Watchic Lake Buffer Plantings – Bonny Eagle High School
Picture: Bonny Eagle students planting shrubs while the landowners look on in support.
Ned Hatfield and his 11th & 12th grade Aquatic Biology class planted vegetative buffers at two private residences on Watchic Lake, in Standish. With the help of the DEP, the students selected these two sites for their minimal vegetation on steep slopes towards the water and permission for the landowners. At one of the properties, there was problem with roof-runoff and erosion around the house. The students dug a hole and filled it with stone to provide a place for water to soak into the ground instead of running across the surface and into the lake. On the project day, students from Mr. Peiffer’s Video Production class documented the work being done by the Aquatic Biology students. The two groups of students are working together to edit the video which will be shown on the local public access channel as a means to educate the public about the project and the importance of buffers.
2004 Tripp Lake Buffer Planting – Poland Regional High School
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Michelle Garcia and her 11th & 12th grade Natural Resource Conservation class stablized an eroding sandy bank along a stretch of Jordan Shores Drive on Tripp Lake. Students spent the day planting 70 native shrubs to help stabilize the bank and to hold the soil in place. On the other side of the road, students cleaned out the roadside ditch to allow water to flow through it again. They also re-seeded the ditch and covered the seed with hay mulch to prevent further soil erosion. The buffer planting was the culminating project for the class's water quality unit. With additional funding from the school and a mini-grant from Poland Spring Bottling, the students that allowed them to make a sign to place at the site, and to publish three brochures highlighting soil erosion, native vegetation, and quick fixes to water quality problems. The final piece of the project was the students presenting their work to the Town Planning Board, which requested additional copies of the brochures to give out with permit applications.
2004 Green Pond Watershed Travels Project – Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and the Green & Mirror Ponds Association
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Kathy Hockman and her Envirothon Team lead other students from OHCHS to complete a road improvement project for the Old County Road along Green Pond in Oxford. With assistance from the Green & Mirror Pond Associations and the USDA’s Oxford District Office, two culverts were identified as needing work – one to be replaced and both to be armored around their inlets and outlets to keep soil in place. The USDA district conservationist helped students determine the size of the new culvert and how much rock would be needed to stabilize exposed soil. With help from the town road crew, students fixed these two problems as well as created a sediment basin at the outlet of one of the culverts and leveled out and re-seeded the eroding bank on the upper side of the road. After the road crew worked with the students and realized how easy it was to remedy these road problems, they went on to correct similar erosion problems on other roads within the watershed in effort to protect water quality.
2004 China Lake Buffer Project – Vassalboro Community School
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Tom Nadeau and his 7th grade science classes learned about watersheds and practices that can harm and help water quality. Once the students understood the benefits a vegetative buffer provides for a lake and how easy they are to create, they planned their own buffer planting for China Lake. With the help of the China Regional Lakes Alliance (CRLA) the students identified an ideal site in need of a buffer – the land surrounding the Kennebec Water District’s intake building, which is visible from the water and the boat landing. Students helped select the types of native trees and shrubs they would plant around the building for their buffer, did all of the planting themselves with instruction from CRLA, and designed a sign to post at the site. The students also held a Science Poster Fair and invited other students, friends, and family to attend to learn about their project and the benefits of buffers.
