Staff Writer

A group of local high school students hope their efforts to protect the Saco River watershed from pollution will inspire others to do the same.

Nine students from the alternative high school program of Old Orchard Beach-Saco Adult Education spent a day last week building a rain garden to filter pollutants from storm water runoff from the roof of the school building in Saco.

The garden is part of a service-learning project funded by two grants and donations from Moody’s Nursery, said teacher Tracey Menard. Students used a $1,000 Watershed Protection Grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and a $250 Kids Consortium Grant to build a 20- by 15-foot garden with native plants.

The bowl-shaped garden slows down water so pollutants can be filtered through the root systems of native plants, Menard said.

“The water will be cleaner going down into the drains and to the river,” she said.

Lauren Engle, an 18-year-old senior from Saco, said the class worked together on plans for the rain garden and developed an educational component of the project. The class is putting the finishing touches on a brochure about rain gardens and will post information on the program’s website.

Engle said she hopes people will realize they can take actions to minimize pollution.

“I think it’s important to do things like this because you don’t really think rain water would affect the Saco River, but it really does,” she said.

Engle said she enjoys learning through service learning projects.

“Hands-on stuff is a lot more valuable than sitting inside with a textbook,” she said as she spread soil in the garden.

Victoria Bonville, a 17-year-old senior from Old Orchard Beach, said she feels the project sets a good example for the community.

“There’s a lot of pollution and each person can only do so much. We’re doing our part and trying to engage everyone else to also,” she said. “I never thought about what one building does for pollution. Hopefully more people can help. Every little bit helps.”

Bonville said creating the garden instead of reading about the concept was a good way to learn. The students worked with Geoff Ng, an Americorps volunteer with the Maine Conservation Corps and Maine DEP.

Ng said rain gardens are relatively easy to create and require little maintenance. They need to be about 6 inches deep in the middle with 2 to 4 inches of topsoil. Plants with a high tolerance for moisture should be planted in the middle of the bowl, he said.

“This rain garden will do a great job of absorbing that rain water and mitigating the effect of the storm water runoff,” he said. “It’s a wonderful day and the students are doing great work.”

Menard said the service-learning project was a great way to engage disenfranchised students and reconnect them with the community and world around them.

“They benefit by taking part in the community. It’s learning alongside giving back to the community,” she said. “They feel like it’s so hard to stop all the pollution. By doing something like this they feel a little more encouraged.”

Menard is looking for volunteers to help care for the garden this summer. For more information, call 282-0631.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.