DROPS of Hope program protects the Truckee River Watershed through community collaboration and education

Several years ago Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships (SWEP) was presented with an opportunity to collaborate with the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District to implement a watershed protection project that would have lasting impacts on North Tahoe and Truckee’s schools, students, watershed & community.

The project, known as Drought Response Outreach Programs for Schools (or DROPs), allowed TTUSD to implement Low Impact Development features on school campuses to mitigate the negative impacts of stormwater pollution on the watershed, and also allowed SWEP the opportunity to connect students to the “what, why and how” of these features.  It has been an exciting project that SWEP has been able to integrate science, art & advocacy…and even a green roof into! 

To complement the on-the-ground projects, TTUSD students participated in a spectrum of activities where they further identified ways that nature can provide services beneficial to us humans. From monitoring stormwater to using art as advocacy, students now have a better understanding of our local watershed and how they can be part of protecting it.

We are proud of the results and hope you will take the time to read the full blog post on SWEP’s website: DROPS of Hope linked here.