Fallston High School’s stream, located in the woods behind the turf, has restoration plans in store for it. WSP, an environmental and engineering consulting company, took the bid for the project back in May, and since have planned their course of action to fix up our little stream.
“This is a much-needed restoration. There are many examples of erosion taking place behind our schools which leads to sediment build up in the Chesapeake Bay,” says AP Environmental Science teacher, Mr. McLeod.
They plan to create a stormwater management facility. Simply put, they’re going to dig a large hole to collect rain runoff. Once this facility fills up, the overflow will end up in the stream, making the waterflow stronger. Any leftover water seeps into the ground. In order to filter this water, sand will be used to weed out any pollutants and pieces of wood, leaves, or other obstructions that could be floating in the stream.
Erosion is also to be combatted. Clay bricks, rock, and fallen trees will be placed in heavily eroded areas to try to stabilize the stream beds.
WSP created a list of every species of vegetation that could be found in the woods surrounding the stream and listed how to maintain them. They plan to remove any invasive species found and replace them with native plants.
“It has to be done, but [the stream restoration] is going to be a major inconvenience,” Fallston Principal, Mr. Joe Collins explains. “There are going to be around 300 dump truck runs that will occur during the whole process.”
The main goal of this restoration is to maintain as much of the environment as possible, while fixing only what is needed to create a stable and healthy ecosystem behind our school. Mr. McLeod ends with, “I’m excited to take my classes down to the woods and witness the progression. There are many real-world applications that I can tie into my APES lessons.”
