SHS Environmental Awareness

It has been a WHILE!

2010-02-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

Kyle here, it's been a while since i've last posted and i am wondering if anyone still follows the SHS envi-sci blog!?! I am now a junior and i am looking for colleges and i may want to go into the Environmental Science field.

Twisted Limbs

2009-01-17T13:03:00.000-08:00

Interested in a rainbarrel?

2009-01-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

On January 27th at 6:00 the Scituate High School NEED Project will be hosting Energy Night 2009

2009-01-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

At this family event, students will present hundreds of ideas for you to save energy, save money, and reduce your ecological footprint. Learn ways to save your family money while saving energy and making our air and water cleaner and safer. This will help us move toward a more sustainable society and a more secure nation. Your feedback about students’ displays will provide meaningful recognition of student achievement and help drive improvement of students’ communications skills. Door prizes, children’s activities, and refreshments will be provided. In case if inclement weather please visit http://www.shsenvisci.blogspot.com/ for updated information. We hope to see you on January 14th and 27th!

Solution to a Water Related Problem

2008-12-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

Many people do not realize exactly how much clean water you waste by watering your lawn. It is one of the highest uses of water in Rhode Island!! Rain water is not necessarily clean enough to drink right when in comes from the sky, but it is perfect for watering lawns. In fact this is one of rain’s natural purposes already. So instead of tapping into your ground water or using the water purified by our municipal water suppliers to water your lawn, you can use a rain barrel. The rain barrel attaches right to your roof and collects the rain water into a large barrel with a nozzle where it can be stored until you need to water your lawn. Also, collecting the rain off the roof and putting it to good use prevents it from running off paved surfaces and picking up harmful substances on its way to larger water bodies.

Flow Presentation

2008-12-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Many people today purchase bottled water. All over this country, and others, millions of bottles are bought. Unfortunately, many people dispose of these bottles even if there is still a lot of liquid left. This all adds up, and there is tons of water wasted that was once clean drinking water. This is not the only problem with disposable water bottles. They are made out of plastic, and almost everyone knows that they can be recycled. Yet most people just throw their bottles away with regular trash. This is extremely wasteful – all of these bottles could be reused to make other plastic products. The solution, ideally, would be to always recycle and finish your drinks. However, this being the world that we live in, that would not happen. Too many people have too little initiative to help the world. The ultimate solution is to stop buying bottled water. This would save plastic, which means it would save petroleum – the fossil fuel we so much depend on. It would also save water, which is something that we will soon need to start doing more, because of the growing population. To learn more about how the bottled water industry is hurting communities, come to our film screening of FLOW on Wednesday, January 14th at 5:30 in the Scituate High School Auditorium.

Possible Solutions To Local Runoff Problem

2008-12-03T05:34:00.000-08:00

Last week, Katherine Kowalczyk, an environmental engineer from Fuss & O’Neil, and Gina DeMarco from the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District returned our class to review options for solving the runoff problem on Rockland Rd. These were the three options presented:

In the end, we selected the Filter Strip design because it offers the best reduction in flow rate of the runoff and the greatest likelihood that contaminants will be filtered by the soil surrounding the basin before the water reaches the stream.

Scituate High School Students Address Local Water Quality Issues

2008-12-01T09:35:00.001-08:00

Impervious surfaces like roads, buildings, and parking lots create a big challenge in keeping our watersheds healthy. As rainwater runs over these surfaces, it picks up pollutants including petroleum products, fertilizers, animal feces, and pesticides, and deposits them into streams and lakes. If these surfaces were not sealed off by pavement, the rainwater would be allowed to percolate through the soil and recharge the ground water beneath while at the same time being naturally filtered to remove some of the contaminants found at the surface. For these reasons, students are focusing on projects that address runoff related problems.

A group of students from Scituate High School's Environmental Science course are making an effort to control a soil erosion problem discovered in their community. In late October, two asphalt swales were installed to divert storm water off of Rockland Road, but the construction disturbed nearby vegetation, leaving two sections of 20'x50' exposed soil. Grass seed was spread on the areas but the grass did not take root due to the lateness in the season.

The asphalt swales diverted the storm water collected into a small tributary that leads to the Scituate Reservoir. Due to the exposed soil at the sight of the asphalt swales, soil erosion is likely to occur and enter into the tributary. This is a concerned because water entering the tributaries can have a major influence on the overall water quality.

The students have recognized this problem and are currently working to prevent the soil erosion and also prevent the spread of invasive plant species in the area. By securing biodegradable jute paper on the area, the group will be able to cease the erosion occurring and prevent invasive species from taking root. In the spring, the students plan to advance from the temporary relief that the jute paper provides and plant native vegetation.

Collaborators on the project include the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District, Providence Water, Fuss and O?Neil, and the RI DOT, the organization that originally installed the storm water system and has embraced the project. The students involved will be exercising the knowledge they learned in class by identifying the invasive species at the site and working to help correct the impairments to the natural environment.

What is being picked up by rainwater that runs over your property? Help protect the quality of our watershed. Give careful consideration to what you put on your lawn. Clean up after your pets. Check your automobile for leaks. Help us preserve the native biodiversity by identifying and removing invasive species on your property.

Bryant University Water Film

2008-11-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

This Monday, Bryant University will be showing a film on global water issues. The presentation is free of charge. All that is required is to sign up at www.audubonflow.eventbrite.com. Doing so will reserve you at seat.

Lawton Farm Walk

2008-10-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that the annual Scituate Con Com Lawton Farm walk is on Sat, Nov 1 at 9am... Kate Giorgi, Paul Dolan and Chris Modisette will be with us... Hope to see you...

New Species!

2008-10-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

This is a picture that we took on the first visit to the Providence water site with Mike and Chris. We didn't know what it was at the time but took the picture because it was pretty wide spread at this spot and looked interesting. It turned out to be Garlic Mustard, a very important invasive. If people see it, they should remove it right away because it spready rapidly be vegetative reporduction.

Purple loostrife and Japanese knotweed

2008-10-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

Purple Loosetrife (Lythrum salicaria)

http://www.ipaw.org/invaders/loosestrife/PurpleLoosestrifeFlower_lg.jpg

-square woody stem, opposite leaves(lance shaped, stalkless, heart shaped or rounded at base)
grows from 4-10' high, magenta colored flower spikes through summer- have 5-7 petals
-outcompetes native grasses and flowering plants that provide nutrition for wildlife
-reduces habitat for endangered orchids and waterfowl
-found in all states except Florida
-invades wet meadows, marshes, river and stream banks, ponds, reservoirs, and ditches

Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

http://www.co.stevens.wa.us/weedboard/other%20weeds/jk1.jpg

-shrublike, can grow to 10' tall, stems are short, smooth, and swollen at leaf joints
leaves normally 6'' long and 3-4'' wide and are broad oval to triangular in shape-pointed at tip. flowers are tiny & greenish white in color and appear in summer. Flowers are followed by small winged fruits; seed 1/10'' long, triangular, and shiny
-designated as a noxious weed in the state of Washington
-spreads quickly, forms dense thickets, and greatly alters natural ecosystems
-can survive severe floods-extremely persistent
-can also endure full shade, high temperatures, and drought
-found in 36 states, not including Hawaii
-also known as crimson beauty, Mexican bamboo, Japanese fleece flower, and reynoutria

Autumn Olive

2008-10-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

Autumn Olive

http://leslieland.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/autumn-olive-closeup.jpg
Autumn olive is a medium to large shrub that will often reach a height of twenty feet. The leaves are born alternately on the stems and they are, for the most part, in an oval shape form that are usually 1-3 inches long. The top of the leaves are green and the bottom side of the leaves are silver. Autumn olive is native to Japan and Korea within this, woodland areas. They can be found in high, disturbed areas such as road sides etc.

Mutiflora Rose

2008-10-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

Multiflora Rose.

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/photos/multiflora_rose1.jpg
Multiflora rose is a thorny, perennial shrub with arched stems and with leaves that are divided into five to eleven sharply toothed leaflets. This shrub is native to Japan, Korea and eastern China. In our area, it has become invasive. This plant flowers in May or June and the flowers are white with red berries that develop in the summer. It grows in open woodland or fields that have been disturbed by humans and likes to overcrowded native plants.

New Information

2008-10-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here's some backround information on Burning Bush and Oriental Bittersweet

Burning Bush (Winged Euonymus)

The autumn is a season when the leaves of trees and plants turn beautiful shades of color. But beauty is not always best, take a plant such as the burning bush, this shrub also known as the Winged Euonymus has leaves that turns a vibrant red in the autumn. But when introduced to the environment, this species may out competes native plant species taking up space that would be taken up by other species and eventually threatening native species because of loss of habitat. This is why it is important to learn about any plant species you plan to plant. The Burning Bush grows from 6-10 feet tall, this plant also requires partial sunlight and partial shade to grow. It grows green leaves that are 1”-3” inches and change color in the fall, and this plant produces a small orange red seeds in the fall. This plant also has unusual corky “wings” that flare out on its branches. (www.nps.gov/plants/aliens/). Find out how your planting will impact the environment. Don’t let the Burning Bush burn up your native plants space up.

Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

A common killer of forests is known as the oriental bittersweet. This species is a deciduous climbing vine that grows up to 60feet long, its leaves are glossy round alternate leaves. Its fruits are round and turn yellow and split to reveal scarlet berries when ripe. This vine can encircle trees and cover other vegetation blocking out sunlight killing it. This vine is known to be able to kill large trees. Birds that eat the berries can also spread this plant (www.nps.gov/plants/aliens/).

Providence Water Site

2008-10-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, Greg, Chris, and Mike went around the scituate reservoir site. There was tons of burning bush in the area, dominating most of the sunlight. This site had a variety of species, including many invasive species.

Westconnaug Meadows Hike

2008-10-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today Cody, Charlie, Dan, and I went to Westconnaug Meadows to hike the trail and look for invasive plants. We found that the site is doing particularly good for that area. We mapped the few invasive speices that we found in the GPS unit. With these coordinates, we will be making a map of this site for others to follow.

Welcome

2008-10-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Hello readers. Biodiversity is the most important aspect of any environment. Wikipedia describes biodiversity as "the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth." This means that when there is a wide variety of plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, etc. in a given ecosystem, there is a good biodiversity. Sometimes, there are certain species that are introduced into an environment, and spread like wildfire. These species don't necessarily belong, and when they spread, they begin to use most of the given resources over a period of time and effecting other species and limiting biodiversity. These species are called invasive. Invasive species are among the greatest threats to native biodiversity, and they cause harm to other species, potentially eliminating certain plants and animals in a given system.

Invasive species are, however, easy to identify and control if you are well informed. That is the purpose of our site. We hope that, upon reading our blog, you will be able to identify many invasive species on your privately owned land and deminish their population for the sake of biodiversity.

Mascot

2008-10-09T06:31:00.001-07:00

This is our Eco Hero!