project leader
Susan T
location
500 19th Street
Brooklyn (Windsor Terrace)
latest update rss
Our stormwater modules are up!

the project

Here come the Water BUGS!

This coming school year, the Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS)'s 7th grade curricular projects will focus on WATER.  We’re working with Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC) to develop hands-on field projects near the Gowanus Canal that will teach students about storm water runoff and ways we can put rain water to good use. Closer to home, we have a need to reduce storm water runoff back at the school and find practical, sustainable ways to water BUGS’ new certified wildlife habitat. Currently, BUGS has no outdoor hose access, so our students need to haul heavy buckets of water from inside the school to water our habitat!

BUGS was honored to receive a grant from the Citizen's Committee for New York City to pay for storm water collection system materials. We now need funds to fund additional staff to collaborate with teachers and groups of students to design, build and implement the system and study its effects. 

Please help us fund our Sustainability Teacher in this dynamic and important hands-on learning project that will reduce storm run-off, quench BUGS’ thirsty garden, and build students’ knowledge and skills!

the steps

BUGS’ Sustainability Teacher will engage teachers and students to:

Create a Rain Water Collection and Storm Water Reduction project and connect it to the BUGS curriculum in all subject areas. Examples: students will calculate water volume and rainfall rates in math class, design the system in art class, and study the historical significance of water use and gathering in social studies.

  1. Design a rain water collection unit.
  2. Build the rain water collection unit in small student teams with different jobs and focus areas.  
  3. Implement the system and observe any adjustments needed before winter freezing. 

100 hours of the Sustainability Teacher’s time @ $30/hour will enable our diverse student body to take part in this educational, hands-on, and sustainable project!

why we're doing it

Our hands-on Rain Water Collection and Storm Water Reduction project will educate children while benefiting the environment. We’re launching this project because:

  • Storm water run-off creates pollution, damages our water supply and wildlife, and causes flooding.
  • Without hose access, our BUGS garden is thirsty and needs the water collected through our new collection system.
  • Hands-on learning is an essential part of BUGS approach to creating inquisitive, inventive and innovative scholars! This interactive school-based project will cultivate students’ “systems thinking” that they need to understand sustainability, the interconnection of resources, and how to find creative solutions to vexing problems.

budget

Sustainability Teacher to provide smaller group assistance to our diverse and engaged student body.



SUBTOTAL = $3,000
ioby Platform Fee  $35
3rd Party Credit Card Processing Fee (3%) $90
TOTAL TO RAISE = $3,125


RAISED = $5,765.00
ioby Platform Fee  $35.00
3rd Party Credit Card Processing Fee (3%) $166.89
TOTAL TO DISBURSE = $5,563.11

 

updates

Our stormwater modules are up!

Take a look at these photos of our BUGS students hard at work on the Water BUGS project. Our Garden Technology Teacher Sashti Balsundaram (funded in part thanks to ioby), led the students in this project.

These photos were taken during the construction of our stormwater modules which are currently hanging in our "YARDEN" (the garden in our concrete recess yard). These modules absorb rainfall and minimize runoff into the Gowanus Canal.

 

Thank you to our donors!

Thank you from the kids!

photos

This is where photos will go once we build flickr integration

donors

  • Terry and Stephen Baum
  • Elena Day
  • Anonymous
  • Sam and Tanya Rodecker Wendt
  • Anonymous
  • Thomas G.
  • Marie Bresnahan
  • Charter School Incubator
  • Phyllis A.
  • C. Sullivan
  • Sascha Newman
  • sallye s.
  • Anonymous
  • Shannon Sharp
  • sarah s.
  • Charles K.
  • Gene S.
  • Angela O.
  • Ilyce Maranga
  • Anonymous
  • FINN
  • Nicky Chase
  • Holly J.
  • Ellen N.
  • Wendy B.
  • Steven Altman
  • Brooks Tanner
  • Susan Tenner & Family
  • Beebe Farm IdeaWorks
  • Janet&Mark R.
  • CWB Architects
  • Gail L.
  • David Tenner
  • Pamela Rosenberg
  • Eric F.
  • KOKAYI I.
  • Anonymous
  • Tristan C.
  • Samantha L.
  • Carol A Rice
  • Anonymous
  • Patricia Brooks
  • Anonymous
  • Spencer & Family
  • Anita R. Keire
  • Brooks T.
  • Thomas G.
  • Sandy Weinbaum
  • Mark Lauterbach
  • Elena Day
  • angela o.
  • Holly K.