Mystic Middle Students Install Rain Garden

Shoveling dirt is hard work, but for a group of students it was also a lot of fun. 

Sixth and seventh graders from Mystic Middle School spent a recent school morning getting their hands dirty in order to build a rain garden at their school.

The 47 students spent the past four weeks learning about the impact of stormwater on local environment with members of Save The Bay. Save the Bay, showed the kids how the local environment is impacted by stormwater by taking them on a field trip to Cove Road where they marked storm drains and teaching them how a rain garden helps to filter our pollutants. The culmination of the program with Save The Bay was the installation of the rain garden. 

Students dug out a depression in ground for rain garden and planted native plants and grasses in the garden that will help to absorb rainwater before it enters the sewer system where it could pollute local waters.

“They’re great kids, they really wanted to learn,” David Prescott of Save the Bay said. “We’re very fortunate to work with them.”

Prescott said Save the Bay hopes to work with other area schools on similar educational programs, but that Mystic Middle School was the first school. The rain garden at Mystic Middle School will be available for future classes to learn about stormwater and the students seemed to have a great time building it.

“They’re all excited,” said teacher Natalee Denard.  “I’m always looking for practical applications of what we are learning in the classroom.”