Port Jeff's Environmental Club Helps Plant Flowers In Rain Garden

From the Port Jefferson School District (via SyntaxNY):

October 22 2019

High school club’s environmental efforts in Port Jefferson

The Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Environmental Club recently visited the Long Island Explorium in Port Jefferson village along with science teacher and adviser Mr. Jonathan Maletta. The objective was to simply help plant flowers in the rain garden but the students came away learning that a rain garden’s purpose in its specific location is to collect pollutants from run-off in the soil before it reaches the harbor and causes harmful algae blooms.

The Explorium had received a grant to plant two rain gardens in Port Jefferson and its staff was grateful to the club and the members’ excitement to be involved in the project.

“The Explorium appreciated our effort to help out and took this opportunity to educate us on rain gardens as well as other things such as native species and the best location for these types of gardens,” said Winnie Ne, senior and Environmental Club president. “This trip was a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone who participated and we would love to have more of these experiences in the future.”

Maletta added that the school district looks forward to a continued collaboration on other projects with the Long Island Explorium and encourages community members to support their local efforts.

This press release was produced by the Port Jefferson School District (via SyntaxNY). The views expressed here are the author’s own.