Students making meaningful change to improve water quality

Watch full video (1 min 42 sec) in English.  
Ver el video completo en Español. 

Welcome new SWPPP Interns

Welcome new SWPPP interns at Lake Tahoe School in Incline Village, NV
Welcome Waipahu High School SWPPP interns in Honolulu, HI starting their program October 2019
SWPPP interns at Cesar Chavez School in Oxnard, CA will have their first staff meeting in November 2019

In the news

"Student-led ban on plastic wattles"
NBC 7 San Diego
June 13, 2019

Sponsors

Recent intern accomplishments

SWPPP Interns tackle State Water Board's Trash Amendment
In preparation for schools being included in the new amendments to the Non-traditional Phase II MS4 Permit, SWPPP interns at Ocean Knoll Elementary have begun identifying hotspots of trash on campus to create 'School Site Trash Maps'. The students will identify activities in these areas, along with physical and environmental features that add to the abundance of trash and develop strategies to eliminate trash on campus.
​Observant middle schoolers change local legislation 
A group of observant SWPPP interns at Earl Warren Middle School in Solana Beach, CA noticed little bits of plastic entering the storm drains on their school campus from city-installed plastic-wrapped straw wattles. These interns took it to the City Council and requested the city switch to natural-fiber alternatives instead who readily agreed and allowed the interns to write the Staff Report and present the resolution which passed unanimously.
Watch: NBC 7 San Diego coverage. 
SWPPP Interns convince the City of Encinitas to shore up Orpheus Park 
Fifth and sixth grade SWPPP interns at Paul Ecke-Central Elementary in Encinitas, CA observed TSS flowing from nearby Orpheus Park and into a catch basin on their school campus. The interns wrote to the city and requested updates be made to prevent erosion and runoff pollution. The city responded by planting new erosion-control landscaping and adding burlap-wrapped straw wattles to hold back the TSS. These interns are learning that they have the power to impact the community beyond their classroom and school site. 

Partners