Lake Champlain Sea Grant will be leading a free walking tour for the public at Peoples Academy in Morristown on June 17 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. to raise awareness about ways to manage stormwater and showcase a project within the Green Schools Initiative.
Prior to the tour there will be a student research symposium focused on watershed education starting at 12:30 p.m., also open to the public. To register for the walking tour and symposium, go to https://go.uvm.edu/green-schools.
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Green Schools Initiative offers funding and technical assistance to help public schools and state colleges meet provisions outlined in the Vermont Clean Water Act, specifically stormwater runoff regulations outlined in the https://go.uvm.edu/three-acre-permit. The permit requires most sites with three or more acres of paved or developed surfaces, including roofs and parking lots, to treat polluted stormwater and reduce runoff before it flows into local waterways.
The initiative is made possible by the federal Lake Champlain Basin Program Total Maximum Daily Load Implementation funds and American Rescue Plan Act funds. The program is administered by Greenprint Partners through two phases. Phase one of the initiative funds stormwater design and permitting. Phase two funds construction of permitted stormwater projects for schools.
Lake Champlain Sea Grant is a partner of the Green Schools Initiative and is supporting K-12 schools to maximize watershed education and stewardship opportunities in parallel with these on-campus stormwater projects. Opportunities include free teacher professional learning such as the Stormwater Education Methods course, resources such as the Soaking up Stormwater Curricula and instructional support integrating stormwater and watershed science.
Peoples Academy is in phase two of the initiative and will begin construction this summer. It is a great example of how the Green Schools Initiative can support learning. Matthew Yoskowitz, a faculty member, just completed a year-long course integrating water research into their school and beginning a long-term water quality monitoring program.
To find out if a school near you is participating in the Green School Initiative, visit https://go.uvm.edu/green-school-initiative.