Click on photos to enlarge
The situation at Randall School--nearly the entire grounds paved with impervious pavement--prompted a survey of other schools.I looked at all 16 public and private schools in (and just beyond) the Wingra watershed. The method was to walk completely around each school and take photos, looking for evidence that the school was employing good watershed management practices, and for evidence that children had examples of sustainability on the school grounds. Specifically, I looked for...
- Rain gardens--4-5 schools (25-31% had a functioning rain garden)
- Potential locations for rain gardens (all except Randall have many excellent locations, Randall has a few)
- Gardens for vegetables or native plants: 11-14 (69-88%). Some are small or far from children. More info
- Prairies, forests, or other naturalistic groupings of plants: 6 (38%)
- Composting: 7-9 (44-56%)
- Erosion or escape of sediment: 7 (44%) 2-3 schools have severe erosion
- Sanitation of garbage dumpsters: at least 7 (44%) schools had leakage stains or open lids or both
Randall ES was unique because that school had the least space. All other schools had substantial grassy play areas. But many other schools showed neglect of watershed issues. Nearly all the schools had deteriorating pavement on the play and parking areas, indicating that the issue of pervious pavement will arise again and again. The three Catholic schools (excepting Edgewood) had less space and none had rain gardens, composting, native vegetable gardens, or groupings of native plants. Two schools, Van Hise and Midvale, stood out as showing the best "watershed awareness."
I talked to a few teachers and activist parents at several schools. A school with good watershed awareness usually has several interested teachers who take the lead. Maintenance of the gardens may go up or down with time, depending on the interest level of parents.
While the administration may be very supportive at some schools, there is more resistance as you go higher in the system. For example at Randall School, there used to be a composter near an intake vent--but the administration dismantled the composter (presumably because odors might get into the school).
Rain gardens
Only 4-5 schools had functioning rain gardens.
- Van Hise ES/Hamilton MS had a large prairie in a low area that functioned as an excellent rain garden.
- Thoreau ES has a new and well-designed garden planted with natives. However, this garden is probably not large enough for the large paved area it serves. More are needed downstream.
- Stephens ES had a large one, planted with prairie plants. However, the area feeding the rain garden was huge, and most of the runoff apparently would bypass the garden. Because of it's potential, this rain garden should be enlarged and professionally designed.
- Aldo Leopold had in the front a large basin at the end of a long swale, recently planted (plants not identified). This has the potential to be a very functional rain garden. There is another large, shallow basin in the rear, planted only with mowed grass. The school also had a garden next to a downspout by the main entrance, but it was probably not designed as a rain garden, for the runoff bypassed it.
- Midvale had one for a short walkway, but it wasn't clear how much runoff it could absorb.
Three more had attempts at rain gardens or retention basins...
- Randall ES has two downspouts with flexible plastic pipes that direct runoff towards the garden area, but there are no depressions to retain it.
- St. Maria Goretti, fed runoff from a parking area into a small retention basin--but the basin only contained mowed grass. There was a swale on the south side I couldn't inspect--it appeared to contain some reed canary grass.
- Wright MS had a series of gardens bordering a wide walkway, but the gardens were not recessed, and it wasn't clear if the pavement was sloped towards the gardens.
However, all schools have large parking lots and walkways, which could feed runoff to rain gardens. Most schools have extensive grassy swales, where techniques could be employed to increase infiltration--including natural plantings.Erosion
...is usually not a problem, since school yards are well-graded with lots of paved pathways. At a few other schools, the erosion occurred where there was heavy foot traffic in semi-natural areas. For example at Wingra schools there's a mound under pine trees where the ground is bare. But we don't want to discourage kids from play surrounded by a bit of nature there.
- Thoreau school (right) has severe erosion problems on a path leading to Nakoma Park. Runoff and foot traffic from the school is the cause.
- Randall ES has little unpaved ground, but there are still large areas of bare soil. On the NE corner, runoff from a parking lot drains across an eroded terrace to the gutter.
- Wright MS has erosion in woods to the E, where runoff from the school driveway enters a dry creek. Gravel surfacing from athletic fields (and a storage pile) is washing down slope.
- Edgewood College/HS had a number of places with bare ground on steep slopes. While the erosion is not yet severe, the proximity to Lake Wingra is a concern.
Native vegetation nearby
Many schools do have woods, parks or native vegetation nearby. But few seem to invite the children to work in or participate in caring for the native plantings. Schools with the best exposure to native vegetation are listed below.
- Van Hise ES/Hamilton MS(right) has a large prairie, and also a small woodland with birches next to classrooms.
- Orchard Ridge ES/Akira Toki MS has a school forest with large, mature trees and pathways.
- Falk ES abuts a parkway, community gardens, and tiny woods. The school also has a lovely, wooded central courtyard, surrounded on three sides by building.
- Aldo Leopold abuts a bikeway, wooded strip, and park. There are large pines along the back edge, and a little amphitheater is being built among the trees.
- Wright MS faces Wingra Creek, and has canoes for the creek. It has woods on two sides, but no pathways and no indication children go there.
- Wingra Private school has a long, steep bank planted with prairie vegetation, and Dudgeon Park in the front--but the park has no native plantings.
- keep dumpsters closed, so pests are excluded, and
- prevent leakage.
So it was surprise to find that a number of dumpsters had their lids left open, stains of escaping liquid on the pavement, while one had liquid visible inside on the bottom. I found a raccoon raiding trash containers at Edgewood. More photos.
Composting
...is one way to demonstrate to children that recycling works, is easy, and produces something of value. Yet only 7-9 schools had composters.
Opportunities for City Engineering
Two schools have opportunities for large infiltration gardens that should be professionally engineered.
At Stephens ES, there's presently a small rain garden that drains a very large area. At present, this garden doesn't really work--but here's an ideal location for a large garden that does work.
At Cherokee MS, a large parking area delivers substantial runoff to the street, where a small inlet becomes clogged. A large rain garden on the median of Cherokee Dr. would be an ideal place to infiltrate this runoff.
Opportunities for local action
At two schools, there are opportunities for actions by teachers, students, and parents--with cooperation from groups like FOLW.
At Thoreau ES, the severe trail erosion could be solved by a chain of rain gardens descending into the park. Here's an ideal opportunity to show a pipe isn't always the answer.
At Wright MS, new swales were just constructed. If these were planted with the appropriate vegetation, they could become native plantings and better infiltration areas.
At St. Maria Goretti and Aldo Leopold ES, existing basins could be planted with native vegetation to improve infiltration. This should be combined with silt socks around the outlets, to hold back water and filter it before it leaves the basin.
The future
My survey is a snapshot of the present in the Wingra watershed, showing much as been accomplished--with much more to be done.
Find out about the Sustainable Schools Initiative here.
"...Keola hopes to replicate that waste-not want-not lesson at Cherokee Middle School, where she manages the lunchroom program. Students there have begun work on a composting program, putting up posters in late April to educate students and teachers about the need for such a program and how it would work. Along with the food scraps, Keola says that deli and condiment packaging could be dumped into compost bins. 'The only true garbage I can think of would be the plastic silverware,' she says." Source
We should push for better infiltration from parking areas. At Randall School, permeable pavement was rejected as an option for reasons of expense and maintenance. But to increase infiltration, permeable pavement isn't required at most schools, since parking areas (upon reconstruction) could easily discharge into adjacent swales and new rain gardens.
Details for each school
I assembled a collection of photo sets for each school. Each set has a written summary, plus captions for each photo. Some of the photos indicate good rain garden locations. Click on each school name.
Animal Crackers private day care (not included in summaries above)
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