Storm Water Management

BEFORE - Not an Effective Retention Pond

Glacier Park was designed and built with a retention pond to the east of the building behind the portables.  This area is a critical part of the surface water drainage system.  There are underground drains that spill into that area from the parking lot, portables, and other areas of the campus.  When it was inspected by the City this summer we received notice that it needed to be restored to proper standards, which means it needs to be a clear and functional pond.  Since it was not maintained for a number of years due to a misunderstanding of whether this was a school or city responsibility,  the area grew into a rather wild and wooded area.  

P and D Tree Service removed the trees and then a second company came and pulled out the tree stumps and hauled debris  and smoothed the base of the pond with proper fill materials.   The major change in the appearance has given rise to questions and concerns from some of the neighbors and many children who were concerned that we were cutting down trees.  

AFTER - Much More Water Retention Capacity

The retention pond was designed to collect and hold storm water runoff from the impervious surfaces around the school.   The water infiltrates or soaks into the ground slowly to disperse surface water runoff which prevents erosion and flooding, cleans and filter toxins from the water.  This morning after the rain we noticed that the water is starting to collect in the pond.  This project has been a great “real-world” opportunity to talk about storm water, pollution, and management of natural resources.

Post by Cathy Haws - GPES Green Team Leader

GPES - Over 300 lbs Donated!

Students work in the school garden at Glacier Park Elementary

Community Contributors!

Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, squash, cabbage, onions and pumpkin are a few of the vegetables grown in the school garden at Glacier Park Elementary. The garden is planted, tended, and harvested by two student groups, the garden club, and the green team. The garden is an outdoor, hands-on learning area where students can learn about planting seeds and growing plants. In addition, students learn about complex topics like sustainability, conservation, food systems, and life cycles. More importantly, students develop empathy and a greater sense of community awareness as they work collaboratively to contribute the quality garden produce to the Local Maple Valley Food Bank. This fall students have contributed over 300 lbs.of fresh produce to the food bank.

Thanks to GPES Green Team and Garden Club

Lake Wilderness Students Head to the Arboretum

Sustainability was more than just a big word for second-graders last week, it became something that students could touch and see and even feel with their feet, on a field trip to the Lake Wilderness Arboretum.

Second grade students from Rock Creek and Lake Wilderness visited the arboretum as part of their studies about Pacific Northwest Native Americans. The visit included exploring the Tribal Life Trail, which spotlights plants that the Native Americans used to sustain themselves, a lesson in plant identification and listening to a legend story.

The students from Lake Wilderness were able to have extra practice implementing sustainability, walking from the school to the arboretum.

Students from Rock Creek pose in front of the totem pole, which marks the entrance to the Tribal Life Trail.

Students were encouraged to touch some of the plants and trees and to try to guess what the Native Americans might have used them for.

A Magical Moment

Our students and community at Glacier Park are taking advantage of a wonderful new outdoor display case and science tools to support learning.  Right now, the display features information about resident and migratory birds.  In the case is a story for teachers to read to their class, three sets of binoculars, and a book so students can identify birds they see in the garden.  Last week, Cathy Haws class went out to the garden to harvest potatoes, tomatoes, corn, and squash.  After they finished they sat in the garden and read about Rufus the hummingbird.  In the story the hummingbird visits the fields in the foothills of Mount Rainer to store up fat for his long migration to Mexico.  Just then a Rufus hummingbird visited the garden and feasted on the nectar in the feeder.  Then as if they knew the story a second hummingbird arrived and the first defended his territory.  In the words of both teacher and students,  "It was magical!"

The Watershed Report Premiere

A few Tahoma Students and Staff at the Premiere

Last night was the third annual premiere of the Watershed Report, it’s also my third year being a part of the Watershed Report Student Leadership Team. I have been growing with the Watershed Report program for these past few years. Our program has developed a strong template for reporting sustainability trends. We repeat a certain annual rhythm, or process, each year. Each year we refine this rhythm with the ultimate goal of replicating it in other communities. Repeat, refine, replicate.  

At the same time I am gaining knowledge and shifting mental models towards sustainability.

As my involvement with the Watershed Report has grown, I have discovered my role and mission in this program. I am the template for future watershed students. Each year that I repeat the annual rhythm of the report I am refining my knowledge and skills. The ultimate goal for me is to replicate my success in this program with other students. I am the first student to be a part of our new internship program on the Watershed Report Internship program through Bellevue College. My internship is an internship on developing internships for our new program. This fall I will create the templates for future internships, and next summer we will repeat the internships with other students. My templates will then be refined and can be replicated for years to come. Repeat, refine replicate.                                                                                            

          Last night’s premiere was my chance to see other students presenting in front of large crowd for the first. As I was watching them introducing this years reports, I could picture myself up their three years ago squeezing the podium with my clammy hands. I think I was more nervous than they look. These days I feel much more confident when speaking, and it’s simply because of the skills I have refined through my work on the Watershed Report team. I’m excited to head into a fourth year on the team as a leader and template for other students.                                                                                                                                            

          At the end of our presentation I met an Environmental Engineer from King County who was really impressed with our work. Even more so, he was personally excited about our work because he was doing the same thing 35 years ago. He was in Jr. High School using a black and white snap shot camera, cassette tapes for sound, and little plastic note cards as a teleprompter. Talking with him was like going back in time a little bit. It was a heartfelt experience to speak with someone who’s lived their life doing the work I am just beginning. I think it was just as great for him to see that the environmental he began in Jr. High has kept momentum in the future generations and the ambassadors of future possibilities.

Blog Post by By Cassandra, Senior at Tahoma High School

President THS Sustainability Ambassadors club

Member of the Watershed Report student leadership team 

    

National Wildlife Federation Certifies a New Habitat in Maple Valley

National Wildlife Federation announces Glacier Park Elementary in Maple Valley is an Official Certified Wildlife Habitat.  The garden attracts a variety of birds, butterflies, squirrels, and bees by providing a wildlife friendly landscape. NWF teaches the importance of environmental stewardship by providing guidelines for making landscapes more hospitable to wildlife.  In order to become certified, a property must provide the four basic elements that all wildlife need: food, water, cover, and places to raise young.  In addition, to providing for wildlife, certified habitats conserve our natural resources by reducing or eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  

The Glacier Park Garden has two new educational display boxes that can be filled with activities for teachers to share with their class when they visit the garden.  The display cases were an Eagle Scout Project organized and directed by Billy Wheeler of Troop 945.  Currently, when classes visit the educational displays, students can learn about habitats, identify native and migratory birds, and read a story about a Rufus hummingbird that is migratory in the Puget Sound.

Thanks to Cathy Haws, GPES Green Team Leader

School Garden Bounty!

One of the challenges with a school garden is what happens during the summer months.  At many of our schools, this means teachers come in to take care of things during the summer months and many times they try to enlist the help of students and parents.  At Glacier Park last week they had a work day in the garden.  One of the students who worked that day wrote a few words to share her experience.     

Today on August 8th, my mom, sister and I went to the school garden.  Mrs. Haws and  Mrs. Davidson helped pick food for the Maple Valley Food Bank.  We picked kohlrabi, string beans, read and white onions, cabbage, and potatoes.  We also pulled weeds.   It was a really hot day, so we watered the plants.  We took the food to the Maple Valley Food Bank; the food weighed 35 pounds.

Thanks to Green Team Leader Cathy Haws and student, Maya C. for this post!