Brentwood Elementary Named Wake County's First Watershed Stewardship School

October 6, 2006-- Brentwood Elementary School in Raleigh was presented Wake County's first "Watershed Stewardship School Award" during its Clean Water Celebration this morning. Wake Soil and Water Conservation District and the City of Raleigh Stormwater Management Division selected Brentwood for the steps the school has taken in learning about nearby Marsh Creek and leading community partners in projects to protect it.

Brentwood teacher Tom LaCivita and principal Pamela Johnson with their awards.

Tom LaCivita, the fifth-grade teacher heading up Brentwood's environmental efforts, was also named the county's first Watershed Stewardship Teacher of the Year.

Donnie Woodlief and Sheila Jones with the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District presented Brentwood Elementary Principal Pamela Perry Johnson and LaCivita with plaques. Lynn Sprague, N.C. Soil and Water Conservation, and Jessie Taliaferro, Raleigh City Council, were also on hand for the awards presentation.

Brentwood Elementary, which lies in the Falls Lake Watershed, has been active in managing the stormwater coming off the school, filtering it before the water reaches nearby Marsh Creek. Marsh Creek flows to Crabtree Creek and then into the Neuse River.

"If everyone does a little bit, we may get Marsh Creek off the impaired waters list," said Jones, certified environmental education specialist with the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District.

To become the first watershed stewardship school, Brentwood completed a comprehensive certification process. Brentwood students and staff not only learned about water through workshops, they took action and brought in community partners, such as the Brentwood Exchange Club and the Brentwood Neighborhood Association.

The 10 steps in Brentwood's certification process included:

•Establishing Marsh Creek as an official Wake County Big Sweep site.

•Conducting a Big Sweep event for Brentwood volunteers as a community service project to cleanup Marsh Creek.

•Advancing their teachers' environmental literacy by completing professional training at Project WET, Community Stream Investigation, and Big Sweep workshops.

•Incorporating interdisciplinary lessons into classroom teaching to advance their students' watershed knowledge and skills and providing them hands-on watershed stewardship projects.

Brentwood's Environmental Committee: Sue Moody, John Chen, Tom LaCivita, Sheila Jones, Anita Jones, Dottie Murray, Jan Cardenas, and Pam Jackson.

•Assisting the City of Raleigh's Stormwater Management Division in marking storm drains in the Brentwood neighborhood to make residents aware that everyone can prevent water pollution.

•Peer teaching college students on stormwater pollution and solutions upon special invitation to N.C. State University's Earth Day event in April 2006.

•Hosting a schoolyard tour for Clean Water Management Trust Fund officials that had a positive impact on North Carolina's new Community Conservation Assistance Program to help schools and urban areas effectively manage their stormwater.

•Initiating and engaging collaborations with the Brentwood Exchange Club, Brentwood Neighborhood Association, The News & Observer, Bearoness Beads, and other civic clubs and businesses on Marsh Creek projects that benefit the whole community.

•Working closely with local government agencies to obtain technical assistance, professional development, and to leverage human financial resources.

•Through partnerships, creating a schoolwide Clean Water Celebration that integrates science, music and physical education with Brentwood's study of water and watersheds.

Pamlico Joe and Clean Water Flow perform for Brentwood Elementary School students.

As part of today's Clean Water Celebration, sponsored by Brentwood Elementary School's PTA, students enjoyed a concert by the environmental education band, Pamlico Joe and his wife, Clean Water Flow. Due to inclement weather, the outdoor "Wet and Wonderful Water Education Activities" were postponed until next Friday.

Brentwood Elementary is in the running for a $100,000 Clean Water Trust Fund Grant. To read more about that and Brentwood's other efforts, click here.

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