Questions about oil drips and littering

Submitted by Glenda Duggin on Thu, 2015-07-16 00:00

As I was reading posts about pollution today, I learned a fact I'd never heard before (or had forgotten wink): storm run-off is the biggest source of pollution in the Boise River.  So, what can I do and what can I encourage my high school students to do that lessens the amount of pollution in the Boise River?  I was wondering about oil drips from all those old, leaky cars parked in high school parking lots...my dad always had flattened cardboard boxes to catch the drips from  his succession of old, leaky cars, but I suppose those oil-stained cardboard pieces ended up in a land fill...is that any better?  Is there a cheap way to fix oil leaks for those of us who don't know how to work on cars?  Any ideas?  

I am also stymied with what to do about the habit of littering I've observed on every high school campus I've ever taught at.  It have the idea that younger elementary children don't litter near as much as older students--what happens to them between about 9 and 13 years of age??  Have any of you middle school and high school teachers ever had success in getting your students to internalize the value of putting stuff in the trash and recycle bins?

 

Comments

cbusche's picture

Glenda, one suggestion is to have a brief discussion with students about where the litter & stormwater pollution goes, and follow it up with storm drain marking.  The storm drains in Boise are pretty well marked now, so we're launching a new program for students to check the drains and submit feedback to the stormwater education coordinator via ARC GIS Collector.  In other communities in our watershed, the storm drain marking program is fairly new and there are many opportunities to get involved.  Here are the contact names:

for Ada County: Jason Korn, ACHD, 387-6269

for Boise using ARC GIS Collector: Aimee Hughes, 608-7365

Also, Boise High is choosing the book 'Garbology' for the Big Read this year and holding a Sustainability Summit.  That could be an idea for you to connect with someone at that school to share ideas. 

Glenda Duggin's picture

I'm in Canyon County--specifically in Caldwell.  Do you have a contact person for Canyon County?