FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 3, 2009
Trident Academy and West Ashley High School named ‘Champions of the Environment’
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Two Charleston-area schools have been recognized as Champions of the Environment, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“Through its ‘Sustainability from Sea to Shining Sea’ project, Trident Academy’s middle school students are focusing on environmental sustainability as they study the U.S. from coast to coast,” said Lynne LaSalle, coordinator for Champions of the Environment. “Trident’s teachers hope that as students move across the states in their studies, they will sense the interconnectedness of life, and how and why environmental sustainability issues affect us all.”
LaSalle said students formed an Ecology Club to carry out action projects that relate to the science concepts they will study this year.
According to LaSalle, student activities will include energy conservation, used oil awareness, waste reduction, composting, and an anti-idling campaign. Students and their families will even participate in a technology-free campout at the school.
“The West Ashley Team of Environmental Researchers’ project is called, ‘W.A.T.E.R. Wildcats Attack Runoff Pollution,’” said LaSalle. “The Water Wildcats are installing a rain garden to reduce the polluted runoff reaching wetlands on campus at West Ashley High School.”
According to LaSalle, rain gardens are constructed as temporary ponding areas for rainwater. They are landscaped using native plants. Unlike impervious rooftops and pavement, rain gardens can filter pollutants and allow rainwater to recharge groundwater.
LaSalle said the Water Wildcats will research, design and plant their rain garden in a campus courtyard. The completed rain garden will reduce the rainwater runoff and associated pollutants that drain from the school grounds into a nearby stormwater pond and to the wetlands beyond.
The Water Wildcats are also planning to enhance the habitat of the campus stormwater pond for aquatic life, and to place information kiosks nearby to educate visiting students, staff and community members about healthy habitats and pollution prevention.
According to LaSalle, each school will receive a $2,000 cash grant and other rewards, including a feature on the Champions’ Web site. A commercial will be made about the project and aired on WIS-TV in Columbia and WCSC-TV in Charleston.
Champions of the Environment supports environmental action in South Carolina’s kindergarten through 12th grade students through its grant award program. Champions is sponsored by DHEC, Eastman Chemical Company, International Paper, WCSC-TV and WIS-TV, with assistance from the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina. Applications for Champions’ next round of grants are due January 15.
For more information, visit the Champions Web site at: http://www.scdhec.gov/champions, or call LaSalle at (803) 898-4394.
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For more information:
Lynne LaSalle - (803) 898-4394
E-mail - lasallli@dhec.sc.gov
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