For more than four years, Freedom High School students and the Center for Environment and Natural Science (CENS) have partnered with the Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District (PWSWCD) in promoting water quality awareness and water science. This partnership was recently celebrated at a ceremony to reveal a sculpture at the school created from recycled debris.

The PWSWCD's Water Quality program, through the Prince William Environmental Excellence Foundation (PWEEF), secured a $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia for a water quality sculpture project to promote water science and water quality educational outreach in the community.

This project was completed by ReUPit, a company in Portland, Oregon. Most of the materials used in the sculpture were debris and trash cleaned up from roadways and bodies of water in Prince William County. This sculpture carries the message of plastic pollution and its impact on benthic macroinvertebrates, which determine the quality of water in our local waterways.

The PWSWCD hopes that students will interact with this beautiful piece as they continue to partner with CENS to promote water science and conservation.