Gardens with water-loving trees

and plants have been placed in

areas to slow and filter runoff before

it makes its way to the creek .

Butler Montessori Campus-wide Stormwater Management

Robust root systems protect creek banks from erosion and prevent silt

by linda wilson and Natasha soderberg

deposits in sensitive areas .

Earlier this school year , in their

science curriculum , our Intermediate

We must study the correlation between life and its environment . In nature everything correlates . This is the method of nature . Nature is not concerned with the conservation of individual life : it is a harmony , a plan of construction . Everything fits into the plan : winds , rocks , earth , water , plants , man , etc .

~ maria montessori , citizen of the world , p . 22

The reservoirs below allow water to slowly infiltrate the soil , reducing the amount of pollutants and runoff entering our creeks . This stormwater mitigation effort represents

students ( age 12-15 ) hosted a local geochemist who spoke about water chemistry . He showed students how to test four spots on our campus for traces of road salt . Their results were sent to Salt

Watch , a national program run by the Izaak Walton League of America . Finally , the students followed up on this work at Woods Hole in Falmouth

Maria Montessori was an advocate for taking children into nature and teaching them to be stewards of the earth . She studied the nature of children , how they grow and develop , when being in nature is important to human development , and also the impact of our environments on development . Part of our mission as a school is to lead by example in these values .

Situated in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed , our area ’ s rainwater , creekwater , and river water all end in that vital ecosystem . It is our duty to slow it down , reduce erosion , and clean the water before it arrives at the bay . Butler Montessori initiated several campus-wide projects over the years , to ensure the health and longevity of the Chesapeake .

One such effort involved cooperation and funding through the Chesapeake Bay Trust Foundation

one commitment to our vision as a Maryland Green School . A student-designed sign explains the project and we hope you will take a minute to read it when you visit the campus .

All landscape and building projects at Butler Montessori are executed with storm and rainwater management in mind . Rainwater

, MA . during their spring trip to New England connecting their school creek to the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean .

A world-renowned center for marine biological sciences , Woods

Hole brings together scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ), the Woods Hole Oceanographic

. Strategically chosen sections of our driveway were replaced with permeable paver systems to catch precipitation and surface runoff .

Landscaping with rocks , plants and trees support water retention in high runoff areas . Inset : Sign designed by Montessori students ages 9-12 explaining how permeable pavers work .