Greenbelt Elementary School Creates Innovative Bioretention Garden

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Thanks to the dedication of students, faculty and staff at Greenbelt Elementary School, a recently created bioretention garden at the building helps protect the environment while educating students along the way.

Bioretention gardens are described as stormwater management devices that help protect waterways and provide students with outdoor learning experiences. To date, the Clean Water Partnership has installed stormwater management practices at 56 schools across the Prince George’s County Public Schools network so far.

“Through an active partnership with Prince George’s County Public Schools, the team is protecting our environment and natural resources while supporting the education of our most precious resource, our students,” Dr. Charoscar Coleman, associate superintendent of supporting services with Prince George’s County Public Schools, said. “Together, we are building a more sustainable Prince George’s County that we all can enjoy and take pride in.”

In 2015, the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment launched the Clean Water Partnership to improve the health of the county’s waterways by removing pollutants, reducing the costs of retrofitting and maintaining the county’s stormwater infrastructure. The CWP optimizes county residents' social and economic benefits by enhancing environmental stewardship by educating more than 300 school children through building stormwater education into the curriculum and outdoor classrooms.

Prince George’s County was the first municipality to pursue the community-based public-private partnership model developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.