Volunteers for Stormwater Drain Labeling
The county is looking for additional volunteers and community groups to help reach its goal of labeling 200 drains a year. For more information, call 770-278-7100 or email rcswu@rockdalecounty.org
Davis Middle School students did their part to keep waterways clean this week by taking up some glue and gloves.
Students labeled more than 40 stormwater drains this week on the David Middle and Lorraine Elementary School properties. The labels alert people that whatever goes into those drains goes directly into rivers and streams, unfiltered.
The effort is part of art teacher Katy King’s “For the Birds” project with her eighth graders, a project they’re conducting for the Disney Planet Challenge competition.
In addition to learning about native birds in Conyers and Georgia, the students wanted to find ways they could help the birds’ habitat around their school.
“The kids realized all the storm drains lead straight into the South River. It was their idea to find out how we can label them,” said King. “They were concerned since the South River behind us, that’s the prime water source for our birds.”
Kelli Uyesugi-Turner with the Rockdale County Stormwater Division came out to train students on the labeling project. Students also learned about how people’s water use directly affects rivers and streams.
For instance, some common pollutants found in the water come from people washing their cars on asphalt where the soapy water drains into stormwater drains. Uyesugi-Turner recommended washing cars on grassy areas, to allow the dirt and grass to filter the water before it reaches rivers.
King said, “It made a lot of things click in the kids’ minds. It was very eye opening how everything connects and affects the environment.”
Students will return to the drains next week to help sweep away leaves and debris.
For the labeling project, the county provided the labels, glue, gloves, traffic cones, and safety vests. The county is looking for additional volunteers and community groups to help reach its goal of labeling 200 drains a year. For more information, call 770-278-7100 or email rcswu@rockdalecounty.org
As part of the "For the Birds" project, students have also gone out to Panola Mountain State Park with ornithologists and caught and banded birds, indentifying birds such as warblers, wrens, great catbird, pine warblers, cardinals, and wrens.
The eighth graders will also be leading workshops for Lorraine Elementary students in January to teach them about birds and how to make bird houses.
