Stormwater Action Project Resources

Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin

Jump To: Funding Sources | Stormwater Solutions | Native Plant Research and Sources

Maps for Watershed Inquiries | Soil Lessons and Labs


The list of resources below is a companion piece to Score Four: Students, Schools, Streams, and the Bay, a set of lesson plans for educators that culminates in a Student Stormwater Action Project.

Click here for a PDF of this information


Funding

Listed below are just a few examples of the funding sources available. Many counties and large municipalities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed offer rebates or other incentives to encourage schools and students to adopt stormwater Best Management Practices on their campuses. Look for the counties’ or cities’ environmental or land-use departments for this information.

  • Local civic clubs and businesses
  • Garden centers and local garden clubs
  • Chesapeake Bay Trust offers environmental education mini-grants several times a year
  • The Home Depot Foundation Community Impact Grants
  • Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. (Many teachers go directly to their local stores with success.)
  • MD Department of Natural Resources, Marylanders Plant Trees provides $25-off tree coupons, vendor lists, and other information.
  • Prince George’s County Department of the Environment’s Arbor Day Every Day and Clean-Up Green-Up programs provide free trees for schools to plant and maintain. 
  • RainScapes for Schools, Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection provides funding for rain gardens, conservation landscapes, and canopy trees on Montgomery County, Md. school properties. They also offer a High School Plant Growing Program. Their applications provide easy instructions.

Stormwater Solutions

Conservation Landscaping or Bay-Wise Gardening

  • University of Maryland Extension:
  • Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, Conservation Landscaping includes simple explanation and resource links
  • City of Rockville, Md. provides a comprehensive list of resources for rain gardens and conservation gardens.

Rain Garden Lessons and Guides

School Yard Habitat and Outdoor Classrooms

  • Schoolyard-Habitats How-to-Guide, National Wildlife Federation: this site includes a downloadable guide for creating habitat areas. The assessment and planning portions may provide you with ideas.

Other Green Stormwater Practices

  • Stormwater Management Lesson Plans for Grades 3-12, produced by the University of Maryland, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, these on-campus lessons and hands-on inquiries cover campus assessments and green stormwater practices, such as green roofs, rain barrels, rain gardens, and permeable pavement. Teacher lesson plans are matched to NextGen & Maryland Environmental Literacy Standards standards. Background material and vocabulary lists are included.

Native Plant Research and Sources

Selecting the Right Native for Your Site:

Native Plant Nurseries and Sales


Maps for Watershed Inquiries


Soil Lessons and Labs

  • Soil Health: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): Soil Health, Soil Biology (with incredible photos of microscopic bacteria, fungi, and other soil microorganisms, that can be used with permission), and other resources, including Educator Lessons & Experiments.
  • Soil Testing in Maryland: University of Maryland Extension provides detailed fact sheets on most aspects of gardening, including information on soil testing and soil testing testing laboratories.
  • Soil Testing in West Virginia: West Virginia Extension Service, West Virginia University: soil sampling instructions, video, and laboratory
      • West Virginia University Soil Testing free soil sampling for WV residents
  • Soil Testing in Virginia: Virginia Tech Soil Testing Laboratory. Also see above links to local Cooperative Extension Offices.
  • Soil LessonsStormwater Management Lesson Plans for Grades 3-12, University of Maryland, Landscape Architecture, provides research activities in which students compare the soils in green stormwater practices (such as rain gardens) with “untreated” campus soils, using percolation tests and core sampling.