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Lehigh County Conservation District grant funds rain garden, classroom watershed work at Whitehall High
Summary
Lehigh County Conservation District and Whitehall High School received a $5,000 DEP grant to support hands-on watershed education. Students helped build and maintain a rain garden, raised monarch butterflies and tested stream health in Copley Creek.
The Lehigh County Conservation District and Whitehall High School received $5,000 in grant funding to support hands-on watershed and stormwater management education this school year, a conservation district representative told the Whitehall-Coplay School District board on April 28.
The grant supported a classroom and outdoor program that converted a previously mowed courtyard into a rain garden planted with native species; students observed stormwater issues, made seed balls and released monarch caterpillars raised in class. Lehigh County Conservation District environmental-education coordinator Laura Hopek said the activities were designed to give students an applied understanding of urban watershed concepts and the effects of common pollutants.
"We installed a rain garden, which is a shallow depression in the ground. It's filled with native plants. It's designed to collect and filter all the rainwater runoff from all the roofs and the sidewalks," Hopek told the board, adding that the garden reduces stormwater pollution and recharges groundwater while attracting pollinators.
Classroom and field activities included a watershed model demonstration (the district purchased a model Hopek described as costing about $1,000), in-class observations of monarch life cycles, and three leaf packs placed in Copley Creek to sample aquatic invertebrates. Hopek reported that the samples indicated Copley Creek is healthy. Students also participated in planting and will help maintain and mulch the rain garden over the summer.
Why it matters: Stormwater runoff is a common source of pollution for suburban streams. The project gives students direct experience with local ecology and nonpoint-source pollution, aligns with STEM learning standards, and provides ongoing outdoor instructional space.
School and community partners: The program involved the district’s grounds crew (which assisted with site preparation), school science classes, the Wildlands Conservancy (which presented on monarch migration), and classroom teacher Britney Sinicola. Hopek said the district will continue maintaining the site and use it as a teaching resource.
Next steps: The grant-funded activities will continue into summer maintenance and next school year, with the district maintaining the rain garden and educators incorporating the outdoor space into future curricula. The district noted students will be able to view plantings and observe monarch presence as milkweed plants establish.
Clarifying details: The grant amount was $5,000 (from DEP funds administered by the Lehigh County Conservation District); a watershed demonstration model used in classrooms cost about $1,000; three leaf-pack deployments in Copley Creek were used to assess stream health; school staff and conservation partners will maintain the rain garden and mulch it over the summer.
Quotes: "We installed a rain garden... It's designed to collect and filter all the rainwater runoff from all the roofs and the sidewalks," Hopek said. "Based on what I collected, [Copley Creek is] healthy."
