Freedom
and
Patriot
High
Schools
have
been
chosen
to
benefit
from
a
$149,000
grant
from
the
National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration's
(NOAA)
Marine
Debris
Program.
George
Mason
University
(GMU)
and
Keep
Prince
William
Beautiful
will
administer
the
grant.
The
School
Division's
Energy
Management
and
Sustainability
Team
(EMAST)
assisted
the
schools
in
earning
this
opportunity
and
will
help
coordinate
the
activities
associated
with
the
grant.Freedom High Biology Teacher Jessica Dorion and Patriot High Earth Science Teacher Melinda Landry will lead 20 teachers and 35 high school student delegates in a project that focuses on single-use plastic water bottles. The project will span two years with the first year primarily spent learning about the watershed, aquatic life, data collection and analysis, and behavior management. The second year will involve student-led project-based initiatives to educate the community on the understanding of marine debris and how debris becomes part of the aquatic ecosystem.
The grant aligns well with the curriculum taught in Freedom's Center for Environmental and Natural Sciences (CENS) specialty program and lessons teachers at Patriot conduct using their recently transformed outdoor classroom that features a natural pond/aquatic area.
EMAST will help both schools facilitate and coordinate the project activities. "Our community partners have a shared vision of a sustainable Prince William County and conserving resources and the environment. It is our students who will carry on this work now and into the future," said Jeanne Jabara, EMAST energy education coordinator.
Landry shared, "It's exciting to be recognized by NOAA for our efforts in PWCS. With the financial assistance from NOAA and the expertise from others in our community, I'm hopeful that we can make a difference in the amount of single-use plastic waste making its way to our watersheds through education of our youth."
In the fall of 2019, Freedom adopted the stormwater drainage pond on their school grounds. The adoption, coordinated through the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District (PWSWCD) and Prince William County's Department of Public Works Watershed Division, provided the students with guidance on the clean-up.
"Students learned how trash on their own campus could have an impact on wildlife as far away as the Chesapeake Bay. They saw firsthand that most of the trash collected was plastics, specifically plastic beverage bottles," Dorion shared. This project made students more aware of the overuse of plastic bottles within their school and sparked their interest in reducing single-use plastic waste. The grant money from NOAA will help students continue their efforts in teaching others about the importance of how marine debris effects watersheds.
For more information on the work that PWCS students will be involved in through participation in the program, check out NOAA's Marine Debris Program account on Twitter, Facebook and their website.