Hands-on learning
Saul students install rain garden as part of education partnership with Nature Conservancy
Students at W.B. Saul High School now have a new rain garden on their campus — and some may have also caught a glimpse of their future careers.
Students at the Roxborough school took hands-on learning to a new level earlier this month when they constructed the rain garden as the culmination of a pilot education program in partnership with the Nature Conservancy.
The connection between Saul and the Nature Conservancy dates back to December 2015, when the Nature Conservancy received a grant from the CH2M Foundation, an organization that promotes sustainable communities and STEM (science, technology, math and engineering) education. The funding was used to develop a pilot program at the school, which began earlier this year, as well as the rain garden project.
The goal of the partnershipwas to introduce students to green, STEM-related careers while also introducing the school commu- nity to the benefits of naturebased solutions, according to Julie Ulrich, director of urban conservation with the Nature Conservancy.
Students received an up-close look at a variety of STEM careers in three way: in-class workshops, mentoring and the rain garden project, according to Ulrich.
For the past six months, the Nature Conservancy has brought professionals into the classroom for an opportunity to teach Saul students about their respective fields as part of a developing sustainable design curriculum, according to Ulrich. Senior environmental science students and 10thgrade land construction students — approximately 70 students total— met approximately once per month with professionals including engineers, landscape architects, ecologists and urban designers.
“It’s such a unique partnership in saying we need to get students ready for the green economy,” Ulrich said.
The visiting professionals also served as mentors, speaking with students about the various opportunities available in their respec-
tive fields.
“They’ve been really excited about us coming in to teach these skill sets they know they can take right to summer internships or the job force,” Ulrich said.
Throughout the process, the students also designed plans for a rain garden on school property, seeing the project through from inception to completion.
“The students really worked on these designs themselves,” Ulrich said. “It gives them the opportunity to take something that’s very two-dimensional in the classroom and see it in 3D.”
The project consisted of building a 750-gallon cistern to collect rain water, with piping connecting the cistern to the building that houses the school’s small animal lab. Students constructed a rain garden adjacent to the building.
As the third day of work was underway June 7, students could be seen leveling and grading the soil, building brick channels for water flow, cutting flag stones to create stepping stones in the garden, clearing brush from the area and planting more than 200 plants.
Senior Anthony Borrelli, 18, said he enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the project. He noted having to do the real-life measurements allowed him to see the role math plays in projects outside the classroom.
“I’m very excited” to see the final product, he said.
“Making that leap from the lectures to the paper to the real world was cool,” said Andy Potts, a senior technologist with CH2M who has been mentoring the students and helping to guide the project.
“The kids are all really enthusiastic,” he said. “It’s really exciting that they get to see it from planning to completion.”
Potts said he hopes the project and workshops allowed students to see the employment opportunities available to them, along with seeing how they can make a difference through green technology.
While the program at Saul has just wrapped up, the project has already received accolades. Saul, the Nature Conservancy and CH2M received the Award for Excellence in PublicPrivate Partnerships at the White House’s US2020 STEM Mentoring Awards last year for their efforts to connect students with reallife STEM careers.
With the school year over, the Nature Conservancy is now looking at implementing the program at other schools for the 201718 school year, according to Ulrich. The conservancy is involved in 21 urban areas nationwide, meaning what started at Saul could have an impact across the country.
“It’s really a great opportunity to showcase how fabulous a school Saul is,” Ulrich said.