The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) has been awarded a Prince George’s County Stormwater Stewardship Grant that will bring watershed stewardship lessons to about 400 students and up to 13 teachers in Prince George’s County, Md. The grant supports ICPRB’s Score Four program in which students look into problems caused by stormwater runoff on their school grounds and then implement campus projects to reduce polluted stormwater entering their local streams.

Funded through Prince George’s County and administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the goal of the County Stormwater Stewardship Grant Program is to encourage on-the-ground restoration activities that improve communities and water quality and to engage County residents in the protection of county waterways.

In ICPRB’s Score Four program students from Parkdale High School in Riverdale will tackle two problems – water pollution and hunger – by starting a campus Food Forest featuring native fruit and nut-bearing trees and shrubs. At Northwestern High School (Adelphi) and the Academy of Health Sciences at Prince George’s Community College students will undertake a series of stream and campus investigations that lead to the planting of Bay-Wise gardens to reduce polluted stormwater and beautify their campuses.

From the perspectives of involved teachers, the Score Four Program engages their students in every-day science, math, and social studies skills as they plan their restoration projects. At Northwestern High School, ICPRB is partnering with teacher Kari Rowe to deliver the program to newly immigrated students in her English-as-a-Second-Language classes. The government and biology teachers at the Academy of Health Sciences plan for their students to present their project in their school newspaper, at their science fair, and at a community presentation.

ICPRB staff members Rebecca Wolf and Nguyen Le are conducting the program. “We are excited to work with these teachers and students, helping them reduce their ecological footprint while meeting education goals for the students,” Wolf said. “Our biggest goals are for students to gain the inspiration, knowledge, and skills to become stewards of their streams.”

As part of this grant, ICPRB will provide Score Four training to teachers at a 3-day workshop in July, 2016, with the support of the Prince Georges County Public Schools and Chesapeake Natives, Inc.

Contact us for more information on the Score Four program or the teacher training.