Stormwater Solutions
“In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will only love what we understand, and we will only understand what we are taught”
- Baba Dioum, Senegalese Conservationist
The Stormwater Solutions Project, a year-long grant awarded project from the District Department of Energy and the Environment, raised awareness of current ecological issues, reconnected residents with a sense of place, activated critical conversations around civic engagement, and fostered a communal sense of pride in the local and broader community. Working with the Washington Middle School for Girls and George Washington University’s Biology faculty and students, residents collaborated on eco-citizenship art projects, environmental stormwater education and a large-scale mosaic installation.
Watershed Cleanups
Working with university student groups, biology faculty from George Washington University and ArtReach students, 12 community cleanups took place with over 235 volunteer particpatnts collecting 4,552 pounds of litter in and around the Oxon Run watershed. At each cleanup event, the groups reflected on the impact of litter on the surrounding environment. The school and family cleanup effort not only helped clear litter and debris but also increased awareness of the damaging effects of waste pollution.
Native Species Mosaics
While learning about stormwater and experimenting with the mosaic process, the students researched native plants, fish, insects, and birds affected by the community's impact and stormwater issues in the District. After selecting a variety of native wildlife living in and near Oxon Run, the students worked alongside Melissa to curate and create mosaics species. The mosaic work went on permanent display in the outdoor educational amphitheater space in the Living Classroom at THEARC.
Installation
The environmental mosaics help to beautify the space, add educational interest and improve visitors understanding of water quality-related health and wellbeing in upstream and downstream communities and wildlife habitats.
Civic Engagement
Creating positive change in the neighborhood
The stormwater project provided a variety of classroom and fieldwork experiences that helped to empower the community by giving them real challenges and helped to develop skills to meet those challenges. Using Oxon Run as a living laboratory, the community participated in ecological service learning projects to improve the health of the watershed. Together they created a new legacy for Oxon Run, for the community, and for the wildlife.