{"id":4122,"date":"2026-06-17T12:15:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/?p=4122"},"modified":"2026-06-17T12:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:48:40","slug":"the-vermont-green-schools-initiative-slowing-the-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/2026\/06\/17\/the-vermont-green-schools-initiative-slowing-the-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vermont Green Schools\u00a0Initiative:\u00a0Slowing the Flow\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ashley Eaton, Watershed Education Coordinator<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting K-12 Schools to meet stormwater requirements and engage in stormwater education <\/em> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Since 2020, Lake Champlain Sea Grant (LCSG) has been partnering with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation<\/a> (VTDEC) and Greenprint\u202fPartners<\/a> on the Vermont Green Schools Initiative<\/a>. This initiative is part of a larger watershed effort to reduce stormwater runoff in the Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog watersheds to help both bodies of water meet their phosphorus total maximum daily load (TMDL) limits, or the maximum amount of a pollutant permitted to enter a waterbody.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stormwater is water from rainfall, melting snow, or ice that moves over the land and collects pollutants as it makes its way to lakes, ponds, streams, and other surface waters. Because urban areas typically have more impervious surfaces (where water cannot infiltrate into the ground), stormwater may reach these waterbodies more quickly and in higher volumes following a rainfall event than it would in a natural area. Alternatively, in natural areas, stormwater can more easily soak into the ground and eventually recharge surface waters. The health of Lake Champlain and other waterbodies in the basin (which lies within portions of Vermont, New York, and Quebec) is impacted by nonpoint sources of pollution (not from a single source), which can carry phosphorus, nitrogen, sediments, chloride, and bacteria through stormwater runoff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, the State of Vermont released a new stormwater permitting regulation, General Permit 3-9050<\/a> (commonly referred to as the \u201cThree-Acre General Permit\u201d). Under this new regulation, sites with impervious surfaces over 3-acres, which includes many K-12 schools and state college campuses, would be required to manage their stormwater on-site. This means implementing stormwater management retrofit practices that capture, slow, and sink stormwater into the ground. To address concerns over how K-12 schools would meet this new permitting requirement, the Vermont Green Schools Initiative was launched!   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A gravel stormwater wetland at Georgia Elementary and Middle School<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The program\u00a0offers\u00a0funding and technical\u00a0assistance\u00a0to\u00a0assist\u00a0public schools and state colleges\u00a0in complying with the\u00a0General Permit 3-9050<\/a>.\u00a0Because several\u00a0schools<\/a>\u00a0fall within the permit’s requirements, this program presents\u00a0a great opportunity\u00a0to collaborate and\u00a0support schools in navigating the regulation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, 65 schools have\u00a0permitted\u00a0designs,\u00a0and\u00a035\u00a0schools have completed\u00a0stormwater projects.\u00a0Installed stormwater\u00a0management\u00a0practices\u00a0include\u00a0gravel wetlands\u2014subsurface gravel\/stone layers that lie beneath a wetland soil surface\u2014as well as the installation of\u00a0subsurface\u00a0storage chambers.\u00a0In 2026, construction is anticipated at nine additional schools, with two projects expected to be completed in 2027. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LCSG\u2019s\u00a0role in the project\u00a0has\u00a0been to provide\u00a0stormwater education and outreach<\/a>\u00a0to school communities, with our\u00a0Soaking up Stormwater in the Lake Champlain Basin and Beyond<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>curricula\u00a0at the forefront of this work. Over the past five years, LCSG Watershed\u00a0Education Coordinator Ashley\u00a0Eaton has trained more than\u00a040\u00a0K-12 teachers and informal educators, along with 10\u00a0watershed organizations,\u00a0on how to\u00a0utilize\u00a0the curriculum for place-based\u00a0learning on school\u00a0campuses. This work includes a course\u00a0offered through the University of Vermont (UVM), Stormwater Education Methods<\/em>,\u00a0that was\u00a0co-taught with Kris Stepneuck, LCSG\u00a0Associate Director.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally,\u00a0LCSG\u00a0has helped\u00a0schools\u00a0identify\u00a0ways to maximize the\u00a0added benefits of green stormwater projects, such as creating pollinator habitat and outdoor classrooms.\u00a0One standout example is the work happening at\u00a0Georgia Elementary and Middle School\u00a0(GEMS)<\/a>, where the\u00a0GEMS Middle School Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability Youth Leadership Team\u00a0spent\u00a0this school year\u00a0becoming\u00a0stormwater stewards by installing a gravel wetland at the school’s main entrance. Cultivating Pathways is a Shelburne Farms program that empowers youth to make meaningful change in their schools and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"
A GEMS student providing a tour of the gravel wetland.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Signage will be available at the site to provide education for years to come.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Through\u00a0additional\u00a0funding from the Lake Champlain Basin Program,\u00a0<\/a>the GEMs leadership team worked with the Lake Champlain Committee<\/a> this year to learn\u00a0about\u00a0what stormwater is\u00a0and\u00a0how it\u00a0impacts\u00a0water\u00a0quality.\u00a0Through this effort,\u00a0students also engaged in the design and planting of several native species to increase pollinator habitat around the gravel wetland.\u00a0\u00a0A goal of the leadership team was to communicate the importance of the new gravel wetland to fellow classmates and members of the community\u2013and they spent the last six months putting this into practice! Students taught a\u00a0\u201cslow the flow\u201d\u00a0<\/em>activity to the third and fourth-grade classes at GEMS\u00a0to\u00a0increase the understanding of stormwater across the student body, helping build connections to the new gravel wetland installed in front of the school campus.\u00a0The team\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0stop there\u2013in\u00a0January,\u00a0they had the opportunity to share their stormwater knowledge at the Lake Champlain Research Conference and\u00a0even presented at the Vermont State House.\u00a0The\u00a0culmination of this project happened just this month, when GEMS students guided\u00a0over 35\u00a0community members on a tour of the gravel wetland\u00a0and native plants.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lake Champlain Sea Grant is so grateful to our partners at the Lake Champlain Basin Program,<\/a> the Lake Champlain Committee,<\/a> and the amazing school community at the Georgia Elementary and Middle School for being a leader and advocate for the Vermont Green Schools Program.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about the Green Schools Initiative, click here.<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ashley Eaton, Watershed Education Coordinator Supporting K-12 Schools to meet stormwater…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,96,102],"tags":[6,101,48,68],"class_list":["post-4122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-news","category-watershed-alliance","tag-education","tag-green-schools","tag-news","tag-stormwater"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4122"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4160,"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4122\/revisions\/4160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}