Calvin Donaldson, a Hamilton County elementary school at 927 West 32nd St., will dedicate their Wetland Outdoor Classroom on Tuesdsay at 2 p.m. The Wetland Outdoor Classroom will expand environmental education opportunities on campus for students of Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy, provide a living classroom for teaching standards-based curriculum at every grade level for Hamilton County students, and benefit the environment by adding a much-needed layer of protection to the Chattanooga Creek watershed, officials said.
Since becoming an Environmental Science Magnet School three years ago, Calvin Donaldson has worked to create a curriculum both framed by and supported with environmental studies. Envisioning a campus filled with environmental education opportunities, Calvin Donaldson’s educators and volunteers began working with Hamilton County Water Quality Program in the fall of 2008 on ideas and grants to build a wetland on campus.
TVA’s Partners in Education Program offered to support the project with funding in the summer of 2009. “Hands-on, experience based learning engages students and gives them a strong foundation on which to build their science knowledge, encouraging improved student achievement,” said Becky Coleman, principal of CDESA.
Located along the impaired Chattanooga Creek watershed, the outdoor classroom, focusing on the function and importance of wetlands to the environment, is a resource to the school and the community. The school’s partners and volunteers supplemented an existing detention basin, creating a storm water wetland consisting of native plant species specifically selected for water quality treatment and aquatic wildlife habitat.
Showcasing new and evolving development techniques that improve storm water runoff quality will create an educational opportunity. Students and teachers in Hamilton County will be able to see firsthand how water quality can be protected from non-point source pollution, by utilizing Low Impact Development techniques and storm water wetlands for the collection and distribution of storm water runoff.
One of the primary features designed into the rain garden and the emergent wetland is the utilization of native plant species for stormwater uptake and evapo-transpiration. Hardy native plantings will reduce polluted non-point source runoff from the school grounds, as well as provide micro-habitats and educational opportunities. No non-native plant species were used in the project.
Calvin Donaldson plans to support the curriculum with the nationally acclaimed Wonders of Wetlands (WOW!) curriculum. WOW! is endorsed by the North American Association for Environmental Education as "the most comprehensive introduction to wetland issues and definitions.”
“The holistic learning opportunities available to the students in this environment are exciting,” said Heidi Chapin, magnet expedition specialist at CDESA. “We hope our project will serve as a model for other schools and communities in the future.”