Easygrants ID: 29561
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation NFWF/Legacy Grant Project ID: 0603.11.029561
Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants 2011 - Submit Final Programmatic Report (Activities) Grantee Organization: Cacapon Institute, Inc.
Project Title: Potomac Headwaters Watershed Leaders (WV)
Project Period 09/01/2011 - 08/29/2014
Award Amount $50,000.00
Matching Contributions $17,419.00
Project Location Description (from Proposal) The Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, also known as the Potomac Highlands.
Project Summary (from Proposal) Recruit schools from the eight counties in West Virginia’s Potomac River Basin and engage thousands of students in hands-on conservation for watershed protection. Project will plant more than 400 trees and install bio-retention retrofits to mitigate stormwater pollution.
Summary of Accomplishments PHLOW addresses the NFWF Conservation Objective: “Improving urban stormwater management, Retrofit existing development to retain stormwater on-site through stormwater management practices such as bioretention and rain water harvesting.” PHLOW targets retrofit for existing school campuses because schools are readily accessible, expansive, and have been strategically prioritized by the WV WIP.
• 35 schools engaged in stormwater BMP installation in eight West Virginia, one Maryland, and two Virginia counties
• 1,157 trees planted
• 3,900 students, parents, and teachers engaged in watershed conservation and education
• 19 bioretention facilities, primarily rain gardens, were installed covering 1,500 square feet that are mitigating 13,000 square feet of impervious surfaces including parking lots and rooftops
• 22,000 square feet of wetland enhanced
• Created a new position at Cacapon Institute for an Education &
Outreach Coordinator
Lessons Learned The most significant challenges to arise engaging schools long-term in conservation and positive action for watershed protection.
1. Turnover in staff and administration was a negative factor disrupting a mostly positive trend in school participation. The teacher driving the project, or a supportive administration left the school and we had to start from scratch recruiting participants at the school to continue watershed education, maintain the existing trees and rain gardens, and plan for additional BMP installations. Engaging a local watershed group, scouts, Master Naturalist, or Master Gardener group – organizations outside of and apart from the school administration – add continuity and enhance the long-term success of BMP installations.
2. Teachers lack the time, technical skills, materials, and flexibility to participate and/or properly implement BMPs. The simple act of taking students out into the schoolyard during the day requires additional adult supervision. Safety dictates that staff and adults from the community ensure an appropriate adult to student ratio. School schedules are dictated by state administration and snow days, or rain-out days occasionally prevented rain garden installation on schedule. Even for teachers dedicated to environmental education and committed to hands- on conservation, they lack the technical skills and/or materials necessary for proper BMP installation. They can't be expected to install BMP any more than to mow the grass.
Conservation Activities Urban Tree Planting on school campuses Progress Measures Other Activity Metric (449 trees) Value at Grant Completion 1,157 urban trees planted Conservation Activities Raingarden installations
Progress Measures square feet of bioretention installed Value at Grant Completion 13,000
Conservation Activities Wetland restoration and enhancement
Progress Measures Other Activity Metric (Enhance Wetland bioretention and biodiversity function)
Value at Grant Completion 22,500 square feet enhanced
Conservation Activities Students and parents engaged in substantive conservation activity Progress Measures # of participants/volunteers in project
Value at Grant Completion 3,600
Conservation Activities Schools improving stormwater management
Progress Measures Other Activity Metric (Number of participating schools)
Value at Grant Completion 36
Conservation Activities 0
Progress Measures Other Activity Metric (Green Jobs Created)
Value at Grant Completion 1
Cacapon Institute– CI
From the Cacapon River to the Potomac to the Chesapeake Bay we protect rivers and watersheds using science and education. Founded in 1985, Cacapon Institute (CI) has grown from a local watershed research and protection group to an organization reaching a broad audience across the Mid-Atlantic.
Our online Potomac Highlands Watershed School is used by tens of thousands of students. Our science projects include watershed research and urban tree canopy studies. Urban trees are the trees we live with, the trees that grace our neighborhoods, towns, parks, schools and roadsides.
As problem solvers CI develops real- world conservation projects. We facilitate community and school based hands-on watershed conservation across the Potomac Highlands, Shenandoah Valley, and downstream to the Bay. Since 2009 Cacapon Institute has coordinated the Potomac Watershed Partnership.
PWP is dedicated to protecting the lands and water of the Basin. CI is an active participant in the WV
Chesapeake Bay Tributary Team and Chesapeake Bay Program.
Supporting Programs for PHLOW
PHLOW is a partnership pf draws on technical and material resources from many funders and organizations. CI is building synergy between federal, state and local programs to enhance K-12 environmental education that will foster an environmentally literate generation of youth. PHLOW supporters include WV Bay Tributary Team, NOAA and Chesapeake Bay Program, US EPA, Potomac Watershed Partnership, the MARPAT Foundation, Evenor Armington Fund, and Virginia Environmental Endowment, and CI’s members.
CI oversees WV Project CommuniTree, a partnership funded by the USDA Forest Service. CTree supports PHLOW by providing trees and educating students on trees’
importance in reducing stormwater runoff pollution. CTree promotes tree plantings and education on public lands through volunteerism in the Potomac Headwaters of West Virginia (Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Mineral , Hampshire, Grant, Hardy, Pendleton Counties). Technical assistance is provided by CI and West Virginia’s Conservation Agency, Division of Forestry, and Division of Highways.
Potomac Headwaters Leaders Of Watersheds—2013 Report
PHLOW History
CI began PHLOW in 2008 in partnership with the WV Corporation for National and Community Service under the Future Leaders of Watersheds program. Over the years PHLOW has had many funders but, since 2011, it has been largely funded by the USDA Forest Service and the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation. PHLOW has spread from its WV base and now includes schools in Western Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley.
PHLOW is a complete MWEE teaching students about watersheds and the problems and causes of non-point source water pollution, especially stormwater runoff
pollution. Students are then empowered to identify problems on their campus and in their community and implement best management practices to address the problems.
PHLOW 2013 Schools
Berkeley Springs High Blue Ridge Primary Brandywine Elementary Capon Bridge Middle Frankfort High School Martinsburg South High Mill Creek Intermediate Moorefield Intermediate
Mountain Ridge Intermediate Musselman High
Shepherd University Spring Mills Middle Paw Paw Schools Petersburg Elementary Petersburg High Wildwood Middle West Virginia—You Can Be A Sustainable School in 2014! Click here
Petersburg Elementary School, Grant County
The 5th grade class, along with science teacher Julie Colaw, designed and installed a 300 square foot rain garden. This is the first project in the design of an outdoor learning lab at the school that will continue to grow in the coming years. The 5th grade
students worked together to design individual plans for the large space;
these projects were complied into one master plan for the space. The rain garden was constructed and installed in April. In the months leading up to the rain garden installation students used CI’s Potomac Highlands Watershed
School to learn about watersheds, benthic macro-invertebrates, and sedimentation during classroom lessons using the Potomac Highlands eSchool.
They made connections between the rain garden and improvement of water quality in Lunice creek directly behind
Teacher Caroline Moffat engaged her 7th grade honors science classes in designing and installing a 135 square foot rain garden and planting three trees. The rain garden
area is located at the base of the visitor parking lot. Students learned that all of the stormwater runoff pollution flowing from the parking lot could be captured by a rain garden and trees rather than flowing directly into a storm drain and to local waterways. Students designed blue prints for the space and selected native plant species that would be in bloom during the school year. Students were able to see the impact they made on the school grounds and for the local stream system.
Wildwood Middle School, Jefferson County
The 8th grade class, along with teacher Linda Mowry, planted fourteen trees on campus. The trees helped to beautify the school and control erosion. The students then grew native grass seeds in the classroom to plant on an eroding slope by the football field. A forty square foot rain garden was installed near a storm drain at the front of the school. Students learned the benefits of trees and how they will help the campus. This multiday project helped to reduce stormwater
runoff and erosion from the school grounds and made an instant impact at the school.
Capon Bridge Middle School, Hampshire County
Quick Facts 1,511 Student Leaders 1,017 ft2 of Rain Gardens 639 Native Plants Installed 607 Flowers/Grasses 32 Shrubs
460 Trees Planted 11 New Schools 3 New WV Counties
Musselman High, Mill Creek & Mountain Ridge Intermediate, Berkeley County
Mill Creek Intermediate
Two 5th grade classes worked to install a 120 square foot rain garden and planted fifteen trees on the campus.
The trees provide stormwater mitigation while also beautifying the student pick-up area. CI did a follow up lesson after the planting with the students to show the importance of decreasing stormwater runoff pollution and how their rain garden and trees are making an impact throughout the watershed.
Mountain Ridge Intermediate The 5th grade students, led by teacher Beth LeGrand, planted fifteen trees Musselman High
Students from the W.E.T. Club
(Watershed Environmental Team), led by teacher Deb Stevens, designed and installed a hillside erosion project. A living sign was designed with blue rug junipers in the letters of “MHS “ with red mulch and bricks. This sign will evoke school pride while decreasing erosion. Club students planted an additional ninety-four native plants in the existing three tiered rain garden and planted fifty red cedar whips.
Musselman High students used CI’s eSchool during an education day for the 5th grade classes at Mill Creek and Mountain Ridge Intermediate School.
around the campus and planted ninety- seven native plants in a 120 square foot rain garden. The rain garden is located outside the art classroom and near the student pick- up area. Plans for the rain garden include working with the art students to draw and paint pictures of the native plants in bloom.
Students actively participated in water the trees and rain garden throughout the year.
Accomplishments
PHLOW 2013 Goals:
Plant 449 Trees Install 9 Bioretention 15 Schools Improve
Stormwater Management Engage 1,650 Students and Adult Volunteers
8 WV Counties 5 MD or VA Counties
Accomplishments to Date:
997 Trees Planted 10 Bioretention 24 Schools Improve Stormwater Management
> 2,800 Students and Adults Engaged
8 WV Counties
1 MD County; 2 VA Counties
* the focus was on maintenance.
*
Spring Mills Middle School, Berkeley County
Students that participated in the original rain garden planting project in spring 2012 at Spring Mills Middle gathered
their Girl Scout Troop to participate in a maintenance day in August. The two student leaders, that are now in high school, showed the younger Scouts how to keep the project healthy and beautiful. Twelve students along with five adults worked to pull weeds and apply a new layer of mulch to the rain garden. The Troop joined in a
discussion on the important role the rain garden plays in reducing stormwater runoff and used it to
Capon Bridge Middle School, Hampshire County
The new class of 5th graders, along with lead teachers Kelly Rutherford and Emilie Gosnell, participated in a rain garden maintenance day. The two classes rotated in four smaller groups to work on maintenance. The first two groups pulled
Mill Creek Intermediate School, Berkeley County
weeds and the final two groups applied new mulch. Prior to going outside, all the students participated in an hour long educational lesson about watersheds and the important role their rain garden is playing for the
Before After
health of the Opequon Creek watershed prior to working outside. Students enjoyed their day of service and
discovering the role of the native plants.
The students are excited to care for the rain garden during the school year.
For more information visit our website or contact:
Molly Barkman Outreach Coordinator
[email protected] Cell: 304-279-9189
Office: 304-856-1385 www.cacaponinstitute.org
WV Conservation Agency
The Environmental Club, led by Linda Mowery, mulched twenty–four trees that were planted in the spring of 2012 and 2013 on the school grounds. Sixteen students worked in two teams on opposite sides of campus to complete the task in forty minutes. A small group of four students worked together to mulch the forty square foot rain garden
that is located at the front of the school where it can be seen by students, parents, and visitors. After the mulching project students took place in an open discussion of
potential projects to be accomplished in spring 2014. Students showed interest in installing a rain barrel at the school to contribute to water
conservation and assist with watering their trees and rain garden.
Want to see more PHLOW?
Click on the “Projects Blueprint” at www.cacaponinstitute.org/middle.htm
Cacapon Institute
From the Cacapon River to the Potomac to the Chesapeake Bay we protect rivers and watersheds using science and education. Founded in 1985, Cacapon Institute (CI) has grown from a local watershed research and protection group to an organization reaching a broad audience across the Mid-Atlantic. Our online Potomac Highlands Watershed School is used by tens of thousands of students. Our science projects include watershed research and urban tree canopy studies. Urban trees are the trees we live with, the trees that grace our neighborhoods, towns, parks, schools and roadsides.
As problem solvers CI develops real- world conservation projects. We facilitate community and school based hands-on watershed conservation across the Potomac Highlands, Shenandoah Valley, and downstream to the Bay. Since 2009 Cacapon Institute has coordinated the Potomac Watershed Partnership. PWP is dedicated to protecting the lands and water of the Basin. CI is an active participant in the WV Chesapeake Bay Tributary Team and Chesapeake Bay Program.
Supporting Programs for PHLOW
PHLOW draws on technical and material resources from many funders and organizations.
CI is building synergy between federal, state and local programs to enhance K-12 environmental education that will foster an environ-mentally literate generation of youth. PHLOW supporters include WV Bay Tributary Team, USDA Forest Service, US EPA, Potomac Watershed Partnership, the MARPAT Foundation, Evenor Armington Fund, and Virginia Environmental Endowment.
CI oversees WV Project CommuniTree, a partnership funded by the USDA Forest Service. CTree supports PHLOW by providing trees and educating students on trees’
importance in reducing stormwater runoff pollution. CTree promotes tree plantings and education on public lands through volunteerism in the Potomac Headwaters of West Virginia (Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan,
Mineral , Hampshire, Grant, Hardy, Pendleton Counties). Technical assistance is provided by CI and the WV Conservation Agency, Division of Forestry, and Division of Highways.
Potomac Headwaters Leaders Of Watersheds– PHLOW
PHLOW
Since 2011 PHLOW has been funded in large part by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. CI began PHLOW in 2008 in partnership with the WV Corporation for National and Community Service under the Future Leaders of Watersheds program.
PHLOW has spread from its WV base and now includes schools in Western
Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley.
Through PHLOW, CI teaches students about watersheds and the problems and causes of non-point source water pollution, especially stormwater runoff pollution. Students are then
empowered to identify problems on their campus and in their community and implement best management practices to address the problems.
PHLOW began when CI identified a need to engage students in
watershed conservation, not just as willing volunteers and strong backs but as full participants in improving their communities.
In 2008, with a grant from the National Corporation for
Community Service and WV DEP, Wildwood M.S. and Capon Bridge M.S. formed PHLOW clubs. They surveyed their campuses and planted trees to reduce erosion.
In 2009, in partnership with the Girl Scouts of America, Potomac Valley Audubon, the WV Division of Forestry and Conservation Agency, PHLOW spread to Musselman, E. Hardy, and Paw Paw high schools.
In 2010, thanks to the Virginia Environmental Endowment and Shenandoah Pure Water Forum, Page County, Luray, and Buffalo Gap high schools joined PHLOW.
PHLOW Beginnings 2008-2011
PHLOW 2012 Highlights
Musselman High (WV)- Fall 2012 Students installed a new bio swale and bioretention area, planted 12 trees, and preformed maintenance on previously installed projects.
Quick Facts- Spring 2012 1515 Native Plants Installed 2530 ft2 of Rain Gardens 450 Student Leaders 138 Trees Planted
20 Community Members Engaged 5 lbs. Wildflower Seeds Dispersed 3 Rain Barrels (55 gallon) Installed Spring Mills Middle School (WV)
The environmental club’s 22 students and teacher Michele Adams worked with CI to plan and install a 500 ft2 rain garden. They also planted 12 large trees and prepared a 1000 ft2 wildflower bed.
Tomahawk Intermediate (WV) The entire 3rd grade was involved in a watershed restoration project and community outreach. This student-led project resulted in the instillation of a 37 x 8 ft. raised bed rain garden, a wildflower planting, a watershed education billboard, educational posters and flyers, interpretive signs, and three decorated rain barrels.
Paw Paw School (WV)
Student Leaders worked with CI to design and construct a 350 ft2 rain
Quick Facts- Fall 2012 110 Trees Planted 150 Native Plants Installed 24 Hours of Education/Outreach 3 Rain Gauges Installed
1 Bioretention & Bio Swale Installed garden making this the second on the
grounds. It captures stormwater runoff pollution from a parking lot.
Musselman High (WV)- Spring 2012 Students from the W.E.T. Club
(Watershed Environmental Team), lead by teacher Deb Stevens, designed and installed a 3-tiered rain garden as part of a comprehensive BMP retrofit for the marching band’s practice field area.
Hancock Junior Senior School (MD) Erin Mckee’s MAEOE Green School Club worked to address erosion issues on a
steep hill behind the school. They learned that erosion leads to sedimentation in the stream, degrading aquatic habitat. They planted 6 trees in erosion prone areas so the roots would mitigate the problem. The trees will also proved shade for spectators at sporting events.
Willamsport Middle School (MD)
Teacher Heidi Strite’s Green Club planted a Butterfly Garden to beautify the school’s sign and provide wildlife habitat. PHLOW provided over 200 plants for the 16x24 ft area and supported planning and grant writing for future projects.
In 2011 PHLOW helped Jefferson County’s Urban Tree Planting Initiative extend watershed education and plant trees at six schools.
Rain Garden Instillation at Musselman High
Tomahawk Intermediate (WV) Installed 3 rain gauges to assist the 3rd grade with a long term monitoring program comparing stormwater volume at 3 locations; under a deciduous tree, an evergreen tree, and an open lawn.
Capon Bridge (WV)
Environmental Club members pulled weeds and mulched CommuniTrees from spring 2012.
PHLOW 2012 Highlights Continued
Goals and Accomplishments
2012-2013 Goals:
Plant 449 Trees Install 6 Rain Gardens 3 Bioretention Facilities (expand/install) 15 Schools Improve Stormwater Management Engage 1,500 Students in Hands-on Conservation Involve 150 Parents and Community Members 8 WV Counties 5 MD or VA Counties
Accomplishments to Date:
599 Trees Planted 3 Rain Gardens Installed 2 Bioretention Facilities (expanded/installed)
12 Schools Improve Stormwater Management
> 1,000 Students Engaged in Hands-on Conservation
> 50 Parents and Community Members Involved
5 WV Counties
1 MD County; 2 VA Counties Spring Mills Middle School (WV) The gardening club performed necessary weeding of the rain garden.
Paw Paw School (WV)
Planted 24 new trees and performed maintenance on their rain gardens.
Other Education Outreach Lessons were provided at Jefferson County Science Olympics and St. Leo Cooperative Home School.
PHLOW is devoted to education programs tied to hands-on outdoor conservation. This gives students a strong sense of ownership in the projects and is building future generations of watershed stewards.
CI looks forward to reaching new schools and working with Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE), Shenandoah Valley Environmental Education Association (SVEEA) and West Virginia Environmental Education Association (WVEEA).
Cacapon Institute’s Additional Educational Resources
PHLOW is underpinned by Cacapon Institute’s many watershed education programs. These include our online Potomac Highlands Watershed School and Stream Cleaner Pinball.
Online “Stream Cleaner” and Stream Cleaner Pinball are interactive educational tools that teach students about urban and agricultural runoff pollution and best management practices (BMP) to mitigate pollution. Pinball has traveled throughout the Potomac Highlands and into Maryland and Virginia.
The Potomac Highlands Watershed School plays a key role in PHLOW education and restoration projects. CI staff and teachers devote many hours to education and instruction prior to hands-on projects.
Lessons include “What Is A Watershed”,
“Sedimentation Blues”, and many online
“games” to familiarize students with benthic macroinvertebrates and non-point source pollution issues. High school classes are invited to join our twice annual Environmental Forums, a month-long moderated dialogues between classes across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
For more information visit our website or contact:
Molly Barkman Outreach Coordinator
[email protected] Cell: 304-279-9189
Office: 304-856-1385 www.cacaponinstitute.org
WV Conservation Agency
MD
West Virginia
VA
PHLOW Looking to the Future
Click the eSchool tab at www.cacaponinstitute.org
NFWF 0603.11.029561 PHLOW – Potomac Headwaters Leaders Of Watersheds
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Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Final Programmatic Report Narrative
Instructions: Save this document on your computer and complete the narrative in the format provided.
The final narrative should not exceed ten (10) pages; do not delete the text provided below. Once complete, upload this document into the on-line final programmatic report task as instructed.
NFWF Legacy Grant Project ID: 0603.11.029561 Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants 2011
Cacapon Institute, Inc.
PHLOW – Potomac Headwaters Leaders Of Watersheds
1. Project Description.
Briefly describe your project, including a description of the problem your project is trying to address, the project’s objectives and strategies, as well as the project location, and a characterization of the watershed and the relevant characteristics of the community’s natural resources, population, and economy.
The problem we are addressing is urban stormwater runoff pollution and the general public’s lack of understanding regarding the problem.
“Most public and institutional facilities including schools and other federal, state and local government buildings in West Virginia lack sufficient stormwater management to adequately reduce runoff. Public facilities that implement good stormwater management serve as good examples and result in nutrient load reductions and should be rewarded for their efforts.” (WV WIP Phase I, Nov 2010)
Cacapon Institute (CI) addressed the WV WIP’s interest in public facilities that serve as examples of good stormwater management by proposing to reduce stormwater pollution runoff through the retrofit of existing developed lands at public schools. In addition to WV, we worked with schools across the Potomac Highlands, primarily Washington County (MD) and in the Shenandoah Valley. CI worked with schools to develop and implement plans to strategically plant trees, restore and construct wetlands, and install rain gardens to retain and treat stormwater on-campus. With our partners within the West Virginia Watershed Implementation Plan Team, including the WV Division of Forestry, we will engage students, teachers, school administrators, and the broader public in implementing easily replicable on-the-ground restoration and conservation projects. These project included a component of academic, classroom lessons that put the conservation actions into a meaningful context. A focus on easily replicable stormwater runoff mitigation projects demonstrated sustainable approaches and expand the number of citizens involved. Strengthening existing school-based, student-led watershed protection and environmental clubs, and supporting the West Virginia Environmental Education Association’s Green Schools initiative helped develop a core of conservationists as watershed stewards. Since 2008 we have called this core of students, and the BMPs they install, PHLOW (Potomac Headwaters Leaders of Watersheds).
2. Summary of Accomplishments
In four to five sentences, provide a brief summary of the project’s key accomplishments and outcomes that were observed or measured.
35 schools engaged in stormwater BMP installation in eight West Virginia, one Maryland, and two Virginia counties
NFWF 0603.11.029561 PHLOW – Potomac Headwaters Leaders Of Watersheds
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1,157 trees planted
>3,900 students, parents, and teachers engaged in watershed conservation and education
19 bioretention facilities, primarily rain gardens, were installed covering >1,500 square feet that are mitigating >13,000 square feet of impervious surfaces including parking lots and rooftops
>22,000 square feet of wetland enhanced
Created a new position at Cacapon Institute for an Education & Outreach Coordinator 3. Project Activities & Outcomes
PHLOW addresses the NFWF Conservation Objective: “Improving urban stormwater management, Retrofit existing development to retain stormwater on-site through stormwater management practices such as bioretention and rain water harvesting.” PHLOW targets retrofit for existing school campuses because schools are readily accessible, expansive, and have been strategically prioritized by the WV WIP.
These retrofits included:
Expanding the area of Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) to employ trees to reduce the volume of rainwater that reaches the ground and thereby reducing the load on stormwater management infrastructure; and
Retrofit existing developed areas to retain stormwater on-site through green infrastructure such as the rain gardens and bio-retention facilities mentioned above.
PHLOW also addressed two of NFWF’s Key Strategies.
“Establish meaningful stakeholder involvement in Phase II Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) processes, translate WIPs into local natural resource and quality of life benefits, and identify practical implementation strategies to meet milestones that are articulated in state WIPs.” This project engaged stakeholders in reducing stormwater runoff from school campuses, an outreach priority of the WV WIP Phase I, which states: “Public schools provide an opportunity for urban runoff mitigation that has practical stormwater management implications and public education potential.”
The second NFWF Key Strategy addressed was “Engage citizens throughout the Chesapeake watershed in implementing on-the-ground restoration and conservation projects. PHLOW’s special value was developing projects that demonstrate easily replicated and sustainable approaches to stormwater BMPs.
Engaging students and the general public in our DIY rain gardens, turf to trees, and urban forestry projects expanded the number of citizens capable of, and involved in watershed stewardship. PHLOW developed a volunteer youth corps through environmental clubs as leaders and community stewards.
Students in turn engaged the broader public in implementing easy to replicate, on-the-ground restoration and conservation projects.
Activities
Describe and quantify (using the approved metrics referenced in your grant agreement) the primary activities conducted during this grant.
Education and hands-on conservation to protect rivers and watershed were the two primary activities during this grant. In addition to the thousands of students directly involved the general public was also informed of the importance of reducing stormwater runoff pollution. Local papers covered the rain garden installations and informational signs were placed at the schools. The WV Department of
Education was engaged as a full partner. Two PHLOW schools, Musselman High School and Petersburg Elementary School, were recognized as West Virginia Sustainable Schools, and Petersburg was awarded the USDEd Green Ribbon.
Briefly explain discrepancies between the activities conducted during the grant and the activities agreed upon in your grant agreement.
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Cacapon Institute’s frugal and efficient use of NFWF funds and leveraging of additional local resources allowed us to extend, at no additional cost, the timeframe of this project and reach a larger geographic range and larger population than originally anticipated.
Outcomes
This NFWF funded project addressed urban stormwater runoff pollution in the Potomac Basin of West Virigina.
The Easter Panhandle of West Virginia may not come to mind as in need of urban forestry or urban stormwater mitigation but a comparative analysis by the USDA Forest Service established Jefferson &
Berkeley counties as top priorities for enhanced Urban Tree Canopy. The Northern Research Station’s 2009 Planting Priority Index highlighted a need for urban and community forestry in the Potomac
Highlands of WV. While not all forests/counties in the Potomac Basin are particularly stressed, Jefferson
& Berkeley are identified in the top 5% of need nationally. Schoolyards, both urban and rural, have an
“urban footprint.” They have dense populations, high percentage of impervious surface, and highly managed (nearly impervious) “open space.”
The Stormwater Strategy for the Potomac Basin and the WV WIP established a priority to “encourage state and local government entities to lead by example by incorporating Runoff Reduction practices into existing schools, new school construction projects, and other public lands and facilities.” In 2009, CI and the WV DOF (both representing the WV Potomac Tributary Strategy Implementation Team) worked with Jefferson County and the University of Vermont on a county-wide Urban Tree Canopy (UTC)
assessment. Today, Jefferson County is one of only eight counties in the entire Chesapeake Bay Watershed that have completed a UTC assessment (Sally Claggett et al., May 11, 2011, Chesapeake’s Future Forests, www.chesapeakenetwork.org) The study found that, on average, the county had a surprisingly low 38% tree canopy coverage (compared to American Forests recommendation that urban areas maintain no less than 40%).
USDA Forest Service used National Land Cover Data (NLCD (U.S. Geol. Survey 2007)) and 2000 U.S. Census data (2007) to produce the Planting Priority Index (PPI) for communities, county subdivisions, and counties. PPI is intended to help identify areas with relatively low tree canopy cover and high population density (i.e.; high priority tree-planting areas where the tree canopy can easily be expanded for the highest human benefit). The USDA Forest Service assigned scores to every U.S. county based on the NLCD and census data (Urban and Community Forests of the Southern Atlantic Region, Nowak and Greenfield (April 2009)). The mathematical regression to produce the scores weighted three indicators:
• Population density—The greater the population density, the greater the priority for tree planting
• Canopy green space—The lower the value, the greater the priority for tree planting
• Tree canopy cover per capita—The lower the amount of tree canopy cover per person, the greater the priority for tree planting
(CI generated map using USDA Forest Service data, http://nrs.fs.fed.us/data/urban/ (May 2011))
Eight counties of WV’s Eastern Panhandle (red outline):
east to SW: Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Mineral, Hardy, Grant & Pendelton). On the PPI:
Jefferson and Berkeley counties (dark brown) ranked with Baltimore and Arlington, higher than most Mid- Atlantic counties;
Mineral, Hampshire and Morgan counties ranked with many mid-Maryland Counties.
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The 2010 U.S. Census identified the I-81 corridor passing through West Virginia as having the fastest rate of urban growth in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. (see attachment at end of report).
Describe and quantify progress towards achieving the project outcomes described in your grant agreement. (Quantify using the approved metrics referenced in your grant agreement or by using more relevant metrics not included in the application.)
Outcome Projected Final Outcome
Urban Tree Planting 449 trees planted 1,157 trees planted
Rain garden installations 1,600 sqft of gardens 13,000 of impervious surface runoff mitigated
Wetland restoration 5,000 square feet enhanced >22,000 sqft of wetland enhanced
Education 1,650 student & parents engaged >3,900 students, teachers, and parents participated
Schools participating 15 schools, eight counties, one state
35 schools, 11 counties, three states
Briefly explain discrepancies between what actually happened compared to what was anticipated to happen.
All “discrepancies” were on the positive side.
Provide any further information (such as unexpected outcomes) important for understanding project activities and outcome results.
We reached more counties than we originally projected by crossing over to Maryland and Virginia in addition to reaching all eight counties of the Potomac Basin in WV. More students, more schools, more trees, and more rain gardens were installed than anticipated.
4. Challenges and Lessons Learned
Describe any specific challenges that have arisen during the course of the project and how they have been addressed. Also describe the key lessons learned from this project, such as the least and most effective conservation practices or notable aspects of the project’s methods, monitoring, or results. How could other conservation organizations adapt their projects to build upon some of these key lessons about what worked best and what did not?
The most significant challenges to arise, not entirely unpredicted, relate to the difficulty in engaging schools long-term in conservation and positive action for watershed protection.
1. Turnover in staff and administration was a negative factor disrupting a mostly positive trend in school participation. At one school, for example, both the principal and facility manager (custodian) changed at the same time and the “institutional memory” regarding the rain garden installation was lost. Prior to the start of the new school year, just eight months after a successful rain garden installation the garden was cut down (we are working to re-establish the garden). This is an extreme example but, more common, the teacher driving the project, or a supportive administration left the school and we had to start from scratch recruiting participants at the school to continue watershed education, maintain the existing trees and rain gardens, and plan for additional BMP installations. We found that engaging a local watershed group, scout troop, Master Naturalist, or Master Gardener group – organizations outside of and apart from the school administration – add continuity and enhance the long-term success of BMP installations.
2. Teachers lack the time, technical skills, materials, and flexibility to participate and/or properly implement BMPs. The simple act of taking students out into the schoolyard during the day requires additional adult supervision. Safety dictates that parents, CI staff, and adults from the community be
NFWF 0603.11.029561 PHLOW – Potomac Headwaters Leaders Of Watersheds
Cacapon Institute Page 5
present to ensure an appropriate adult to student ratio. This is additionally true as younger students are engaged. School schedules are dictated by state administration and snow days, or rain-out days occasionally prevented rain garden installation on schedule. Finally, even for teachers dedicated to environmental education and committed to hands-on conservation, they lack the technical skills and/or materials necessary to install efficient and successful BMPs. Teachers cannot carry the BMP installation on their own any more than they can be expected to mow the grass, tar the roof, or paint the walls.
Outside, technically proficient, experts are essential to successful BMP installations.
5. Dissemination
Briefly identify any dissemination of lessons learned or other project results to external audiences, such as the public or other conservation organizations.
Lessons learned were disseminated to other NGOs in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Since 2011 Cacapon Institute has presented at the Chesapeake Bay Forum, Maryland
Association of Environmental and Outdoor Educators, Virginia Naturally, WV
Environmental Education Association, and WV Science Teachers Association. Through our participation in the Chesapeake Bay Program Education and Forestry work groups dozens of regional NGOs and federal agencies are aware of our school-based, hands-on conservation and education programs.
After each project is completed we post photos, stories, and DIY instructions to our website. Click on the “Projects Blueprint” at www.cacaponinstitute.org/middle.htm to see stories. Our website tracking software reports thousands of “hits” on our webpages covering our conservation projects.
Cacapon Institute’s Potomac Headwaters Leaders of Watersheds and school-based WV Project CommuniTree plantings and BMPs were primary drivers in our being awarded the Gold Leaf by the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the International Society of Arborists.
Cacapon Institute has more than 300 members and followers, both in our annual mailings and following us on FaceBook, who have been informed of, and support, our schoolyard BMP and watershed education programs.
6. Project Documents
Include in your final programmatic report, via the Uploads section of this task, the following:
2-10 representative photos from the project. Photos need to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi;
Photos include:
report publications, GIS data, brochures, videos, outreach tools, press releases, media coverage;
Annual reports from 2012 and 2013 have been posted.
A KML file (Google Earth) of all the PHLOW schools is posted.
A video of our Urban Forester, Tanner Haid, instructing students on a tree planting is posted.
Stories on all our schoolyard projects, with photos, is available “Projects Blueprint” webpage at www.cacaponinstitute.org/middle.htm
any project deliverables per the terms of your grant agreement.
Not part of our project deliverable, but a significant outcome of NFWF support for PHLOW is Cacapon Institute’s broader environmental education efforts. Lessons learned in PHLOW’s hands-on projects, supported by NFWF, informed our participating in writing the Mid-Atlantic Environmental Literacy Plan to which we are a signatory. PHLOW has been a driving force in the creation of WV Department of Education’s “Sustainable Schools.”
Urban Area Name Percent
Change 2010 2000 Change Percent
Change 2010 2000 Change Census ID Hagerstown, MD--WV--PA 74 133 77 57 52 182696 120326 62370 36190 Salisbury, MD--DE 65 71 43 28 65 98081 59426 38655 78364 Lebanon, PA 51 45 30 15 21 77086 63681 13405 48664 Waldorf, MD 47 68 46 22 47 109919 74765 35154 91261 Lexington Park--California--
Chesapeake Ranch Estates, MD
43 50 35 15 36 58875 43196 15679 49594
Chambersburg, PA 37 37 27 10 34 50887 37872 13015 15184 Hanover, PA 35 36 27 9 36 66301 48696 17605 36784 State College, PA 35 29 21 7 23 87454 71301 16153 84493 Bloomsburg--Berwick, PA 29 33 25 7 11 53618 48245 5373 8434 Aberdeen--Bel Air South--Bel Air
North, MD
28 131 102 29 22 213751 174598 39153 199
Harrisburg, PA 25 260 208 51 23 444474 362782 81692 37081 Lancaster, PA 24 248 199 48 24 402004 323554 78450 47530 Harrisonburg, VA 22 33 27 6 27 66784 52647 14137 37162 Lynchburg, VA 19 89 75 14 18 116636 98714 17922 52201 Fredericksburg, VA 19 78 65 12 45 141238 97102 44136 31600 Washington, DC--VA--MD 14 1322 1157 165 17 4586770 3933920 652850 92242 Richmond, VA 13 492 437 55 16 953556 818836 134720 74746 Winchester, VA 12 37 33 4 30 69449 53559 15890 96103 York, PA 12 132 119 14 20 232045 192903 39142 97750 Elmira, NY 9 38 35 3 1 67983 67159 824 27118 Hazleton, PA 8 31 29 2 10 56827 51746 5081 37945 Westminster--Eldersburg, MD 8 58 53 4 12 72714 65034 7680 94294 Scranton, PA 8 171 159 12 -1 381502 385237 -3735 80227 Baltimore, MD 5 717 683 34 6 2203663 2076354 127309 4843 Cumberland, MD--WV--PA 0 33 33 0 0 51899 52115 -216 21745 Altoona, PA 0 37 38 0 -3 79930 82520 -2590 1792 Williamsport, PA -2 27 27 0 -4 56142 58693 -2551 95455 Virginia Beach, VA -2 515 527 -11 3 1439666 1394439 45227 90892 Binghamton, NY--PA -3 74 76 -2 -1 158084 158884 -800 7732 Frederick, MD -7 73 79 -5 19 141576 119144 22432 31519 Charlottesville, VA -8 35 37 -3 13 92359 81449 10910 15724 Staunton--Waynesboro, VA* 38 56611 84630 Williamsburg, VA* 56 75689 95411
*No comprable data for Census 2000
Land Area (Sq miles) Population
