3-4 Class Keeps Casco Bay Clean
Stenciling Storm Drains
On Wednesday October 26th, third and fourth graders from Friends School of Portland, accompanied by representatives from the Town of Falmouth, stenciled storm drains in the neighborhood surrounding Mackworth Island. Video Their purpose was to spread the message, “Do not dump/Drains to Casco Bay,” in order to remind neighbors to keep pollution out of our coastal waters. Rainwater runoff — and the pollutants it carries — is the number one source of water pollution to lakes, rivers, and coastal waters, resulting in slime-covered coves, fish kills, and prolonged red tides. Runoff from rain and snow melt can carry oil, litter, leaves, grass clippings, pesticides, and sediments from construction sites into storm drains, and in turn, into local bodies of water. Residents often don’t realize that dumping engine oil, paint, cigarette butts, or pet waste into storm drains results in water pollution that could affect their drinking water supply, fishing holes, or swimming beaches.
The stenciling kits used by the students were on loan from Friends of Casco Bay, as part of its efforts to educate the community about the effects of stormwater pollution. Since 1989, Friends of Casco Bay/Casco Baykeeper® has been working to improve and protect the environmental health of Casco Bay through advocacy, education, collaborative partnerships, water quality monitoring, and other scientific research. For more information, visit www.cascobay.org.
Friends School of Portland emphasizes place-based education — using the students’ surroundings, in this case Mackworth Island and Casco Bay, as a primary resource for learning. The third and fourth graders have been studying water quality and marine life in Casco Bay, engaging in a place-based learning experience in which they better understand the complexity of human interactions with nature, and become strong environmental stewards as well as active, involved citizens. The Friends School philosophy of “inquiry, reflection & action,” the desire to give students real opportunities to make a difference in their community, and the school’s unique location on Mackworth Island all combine to provide an ideal platform for a service project of this kind.
