Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Students at the Gibbons School recently learned first-hand about how plants and soils can be used to help filter out pollution from runoff. During the fall of 2017, the school became the site of three new landscaped areas (or basins), and one underground chamber, which were specially designed by the Stoughton Engineering Department to keep pollution away from Steep Hill Brook.
More than sixty 5th graders were visited by the Neponset River Watershed Association's Outreach Director, Nancy Fyler, who gave a presentation on stormwater runoff and how it can affect waterways. After the presentation, students went outdoors and met Stoughton engineers, Marc Tisdelle and Craig Horsfall, who led them on a tour of the four newly designed areas, and explained the design and filtration process of the basins.
The rain garden project was a collaborative effort between the Town of Stoughton and the Neponset River Watershed Association, and was financed with federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (the Department) under an s. 319 competitive grant.
