Champions of the Environment

Last week was Earth Day and West Ashley’s Charles Towne Montessori School (CTMS) celebrated by becoming one of only eight South Carolina schools that were awarded this year’s Champions of the Environment grants by S.C. Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC). These grants are awarded to projects that​help to protect the natural world and raise environmental awareness in the community.
Science Club members at CTMS are learning about low impact development features, such as rain gardens and rainwater harvesting, and how these can help reduce nonpoint source pollution, provide flood control management, and increase habitat for native plants and insects.
“The students at Charles Towne Montessori, like children everywhere, have great curiosity about their environment, and it has been a pleasure to explore water conservation with the Science Club students,” said Kristen French, Science Club adult sponsor. “The students enjoy taking action to help keep water clean and learning ways that they can impact the surrounding community.”
The Science Club has conducted a stormwater audit on CTMS’s three-acre campus to identify erosion patterns and poor drainage areas, as well as determine suitable locations for managing stormwater. We have consulted with members of the Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium, including the City of Charleston and the Clemson Extension for advice, support and partnership, and accessing other resources such as native plants, and design and installation of our rain garden.
(Science Club students placing Stormwater decals along the West Ashley Greenway.)
Students have also begun marking stormwater drains on and around our campus, including a section of the West Ashley Greenway, and will be marking more drains in the surrounding neighborhood. This activity helps the students, their families, and our neighbors understand that stormwater goes directly into our local watershed (the Stono River watershed), which includes a nearby stormwater pond and nearby marshes which feed directly into the Stono River and ultimately to the Atlantic Ocean.
Long term educational opportunities will include upper elementary students teaching younger students on campus about the function of our rain garden and rain barrels; in addition, all students on campus will have opportunities to learn about the beneficial insects and birds attracted to our rain garden.
“Dr. Montessori repeatedly emphasized the elementary child’s interest in taking responsibility for the environment so this project fits seamlessly with our curriculum,” said Kevin O’Loughlin, Head of School at CTMS.
Charles Towne Montessori is located at 56 Leinbach Dr. in West Ashley. For more information, visit www.charlestownemontessori.org.