Down the Drain- a Sustainability Project at Ecole St AvilaGordonCampbell gcampbellpembinatrails.ca Janice Lukes- jlukesshaw.ca School Year 2007 2008 The St. Avila Home and School Association constructed three planters around the perimeter of the school and planted a few trees to improve the school grounds. The projects were very successful and sparked an interest by parents and teachers to consider doing more towards improving the outside grounds of the school yard. The St. Avila Home and School Association continued working to improve the recreation / playground in and around the school. The committee decided to look at improving the entire shared use grounds both the school and Community Centres properties - because the grounds were shared by both and used heavily by both. A sub committee was formed, and initiated a series of consultations were held within the school and the stakeholders that would be directly impacted. Richmond Kings Community Centre Agassiz Child Care Centre cole St. Avila School Age Child Care (pre-post child care program located in school) cole St. Avila teachers Parents and students The Drainage ChallengeThe School Ground Greening Committee recognized that before any kind of improvements to the recreational / playground areas occurred, drainage must be improved. The entire 14 acres of the shared use site was plagued with drainage problems. The grounds were very uneven which resulted in large areas of standing water / puddles and soggy mud spots all overDerek Murray, a parent at the school and partner in Scatliff + Millar + Murray Landscape Architects(SMM) joined the parent committee. SMM is the landscape architectural firm who developed Winnipegs first commercial natural drainage systems in the residential community of Royalwood and are now developing the same wetland approach to the housing developments of Bridgewater Forest, Sage Creek, and South Point. In the school year 2008 2009, the cole St. Avila Parent Home and School Association and the school embarked on the school ground greening project. This project has been a 5 year undertaking spearheaded by the St. Avila Home and School Association After community consultation, wish lists and ideas were then relayed to Scatliff Millar Murray Landscape Architects who developed a series of CONCEPTUAL display boards. These display boards were then taken to additional stakeholders for discussion and input: Pembina Trails School Division (landowners) City of Winnipeg (landowners of the Community Centre) Province of Manitoba (landowners Pembina Trails School Division) Government of Canada (who could offer financial support) Area residents / community members (residing in close proximity, who used the Community Centre facilities, and who used the school ground facilities as a neighbourhood park / recreation area).Four common themes resulted from the stakeholder consultations: increased physical activity/recreational opportunities improved drainage for the entire site that currently was impacting the baseball / soccer fields / fitness trail and playground areas more natural play opportunities - ability to connect closer with the environment increased educational opportunities outdoorsThe Drainage Solution Natural Drainage Traditionally, public spaces like community centres and schools do not look at dealing with their own storm water runoff. The usual approach is to channel the water to the nearest storm drain, through drain pipes, ditches and graded driveways / parking lots - essentially flushing all the storm water runoff down the drain and into the Citys storm water system. But in the past few years, as Manitobans are becoming aware of the water quality issues Lake Winnipeg is facing, people are beginning to understand the current ways we deal with water are creating problems and there is a need to look to more ecologically positive approaches to handling storm water runoff. The Bioretention SystemThrough the expertise of Scatliff + Millar + Murray Landscape Architects it was determined a bioretention system would be developed to deal with the drainage challenges. This is a combination of natural n (biological) elements that channel, retain, cleanse and remove storm water. The bioretention system offers far more opportunities than the traditional underground approach to solving the drainage issues as it: Removes standing water AND cleans toxins through the use of native plants Increases, improves and protects surrounding habitat and environment Provides foundational elements of a Natural Playground Offers tremendous educational opportunities related to school curriculum Offers broad educational outreach opportunities into the community on water conservation and water stewardship Bio Swales: The bio swale is a drainage ditch or valley in the land that