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By HOLLY ATKINS
Wonders of Florida
On a recent Saturday morning, while many of their friends were just crawling out of bed, seventh-graders from Debbie Love's gifted class at Seminole Middle School marched through their community, caulking guns loaded and ready for action. Their enemy? Uninformed citizens who pollute our local waters. Their mission? Mark storm drains with signs reminding residents that whatever goes into the drain goes into the bay, lake, pond or gulf at the other end. Why? Well, you may be surprised to learn that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, storm-water runoff (and the gunk it takes with it from the streets) is the No. 1 threat to water quality in the United States. Get out from behind the desk
A strong sense of community. Student-centered, hands-on, authentic learning. In Debbie Love's classroom these aren't just phrases from some educational handbook. These principles are the driving forces behind her teaching and some of the reasons why Ms. Love's is one of those "I remember when" classes. You know, the one you never forget. The one that changes the way you look at things. An Earth Force project was perfect for Debbie Love and her students. Seventh-grader Ross Brummett explains: "Earth Force is where kids like us are trying to stop a certain environmental problem." You go, kids. After attending a two-day teacher training at the Florida Aquarium during the summer, Ms. Love started off the school year by introducing her students to the nuts and bolts of planning an Earth Force project. Sample projects, books, tip cards with words of advice from other students (all provided courtesy of Earth Force) -- these kids had just about everything they needed to help change the world! With all the right stuff, now they just needed to get out of the classroom. Do you think you can change the world sitting in a desk? What's the problem?
Eighteen problems were identified. Some were environmental, some safety-related and others just plain eyesores in the community. Class discussion then narrowed the list to five: Poor drainage because clogged drains created standing water in ditches; lack of street identification; litter in the streets; low, unkempt trees at the edge of the roads; and abandoned buildings. Time to research! Newspapers, photographs and experts such as Melody Poirier from the Environmental Protection Agency, Jerry DeCaro from the Highway Department and students from Eckerd College's marine science program provided the Seminole students with important information about each of the problems. These in-the-know professionals also helped identify which problems kids had the power to change. Abandoned buildings, for example, were out of their control. Trees hanging dangerously over roads were the responsibility of the highway department. When Ms. Poirier from the EPA and the college students came to Ms. Love's class, they explained the water cycle and how the water you see gathering in front of blocked storm drains is part of Florida's total water system.
The storm drainage problem was a shock to most students. "You feel really angry. And then you feel, like, okay, I don't realize I'm doing this because everyone's doing this," says Hannah Ziegler. Ross Brummett agrees. "People don't think about it. When they're pushing leaves into the ditch, they don't think about it. They figure that it'll just float away, and it doesn't affect them at all." Research complete. Time to vote. Hannah explains the process: "We took the ideas, and then we rated them. Then we put comments -- like reasons why we rated them like we did. Then we added up the numbers." Storm drains won. Educate those polluters!The next step was to find a solution to the problem.According to Ross, "The only thing you can do to solve this problem is to get a cleanup crew, or try to persuade people not to pollute."
In addition to the storm drain marking project, the students decided that education aimed at the younger generation was the best way to approach the problem. Ross says it is important to try to make people care about the environment. "We're making an animated movie for second-graders to help teach them about the problems with polluting and clogging storm drains. Kids can have a big influence on their parents. People need to connect their action (clogging storm drains) with the consequences (water pollution)." Tampa BayWatchFind out about more about the storm drain problem and ways you can help protect the waters in and around Tampa Bay by visiting www.tampabaywatch.org -- the home page of Tampa BayWatch: An Environmental Stewardship Program for the Tampa Bay Estuary.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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Maps in hand, students formed groups and began exploring the community surrounding Seminole Middle.
