PHWS Projects Washington County MD

Washington County, Maryland- Rain Garden Projects

The 4^th grade classes at Boonsboro, Fountain Rock, Greenbrier, Lincolnshire, and Pleasant Valley Elementary Schools and the 5^th grade at Sharpsburg Elementary School participated in the Watershed Education Program offered by Potomac Valley Audubon Society (PVAS). This six session education program teaches lessons about the basics of water and water density, the water cycle, watersheds, non-point source pollution, erosion, water chemistry testing, benthic macroinvertebrates, and food webs. All of these key lessons come together on a day long field trip that applies all lessons learned at a local stream. This year schools in Washington County planted native plant seeds and grew them in their classroom to be planted outdoors in a rain garden on their campus. Plant Species included: Butterfly Weed, Purple Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan, and Blanket Flower.

Cacapon Institute has partnered with PVAS on a similar program in Morgan County, WV. This spring CI partnered on the rain garden installations in Washington County. CI met with the schools to determine an ideal location for the rain garden, composed a master planting plan, prepared the site for installation, and assisted with the planting and mulching of the gardens with the 4^th or 5^th grade students. In addition to the students growing their own plants in classroom there were plugs and quart size plants added to each rain garden. Plug species included: Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia, Tussock Sedge, New York Aster, Boneset, and Blue Flag. Quart size species included: Blue-eyed Grass and Eastern Columbine. See below statistics and photos from each school’s rain garden.

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Boonsboro Elementary School, Boonsboro, MD 72 square feet; 57 plugs, 8 quarts, and 45 student grown plants. A rain barrel was also painted and installed at the school to retain rainwater for use in the garden.



Fountain Rock Elementary School, Hagerstown, MD 64 square feet; 48 plugs, 8 quarts, and 40 student grown plants. A rain barrel was also painted and installed at the school to retain rainwater for use in the garden.



Greenbrier Elementary School, Boonsboro, MD 72 square feet; 93 plugs, 8 quarts, and 33 student grown plants.



Lincolnshire Elementary School, Hagerstown, MD 70 square feet; 60 plugs, 8 quarts, and 33 student grown plants. A rain barrel was also painted and installed at the school to retain rainwater for use in the garden.


Pleasant Valley Elementary School, Knoxville, MD 90 square feet; 48 plugs, 38 quarts, and 36 student grown plants.


Sharpsburg Elementary School, Sharpsburg, MD 60 square feet; 93 plugs, 8 quarts, and 25 student grown plants.