Fifth graders at Clyde Elementary school worked with Haywood Waterways Association to stencil storm drains in their school campus parking lot this month.

The drains now provide the message that the water that flows into them goes straight into the stream next to the school and on to the Pigeon River. The students not only learned where water goes once it disappears through the grates of a storm drain, but also broadcast it to the public.

Christine O’Brien, project assistant, and Jane Falkenstein, outreach specialist, with Haywood Waterways, went over the basics of the water cycle and demonstrated why it’s so important to use water wisely, and keep it clean and free of debris.  

Then, using bright green paint and stencils to label each storm drain in the parking lot, kids cleaned each area, set up the stencils, and spray painted each one.

“It was environmental stewardship in action, a perfect example of how education plus service learning and a chance to make a difference can lead to a sense of ownership by the kids and a feeling of responsibility for taking care of our waterways,” O’Brien said.