Hermitage QUEST students working with the development of Super-Walmart construction to protect the stream.

Last year students planted a riparian zone along the school section of the stream as part of a Natural Channel Design restoration project funded by a DEP Growing Greener Grant. The project continues this year with seventh and eighth graders. They are working with a local environmental consulting firm to protect the stream that runs behind the Super-Wal Mart construction site located near the school. The Earth Force project is being funded by an environmental grant from the Wal-Mart foundation.

The students selected the Super-Wal Mart project since the stream that flows behind the school and along the nature trail continues behind the development site.

The project will build upon last year's achievements. Students had:
- planted over 2000 trees as a riparian zone
- conducted biological, chemical and physical water quality tests to collect pre-construction data.
- conducted macroinvertebrate study
- partnered with Mercer County Conservation District

All this was leading to the natural channel design project that the seventh and eight graders will continue. They also planning to teach elementary students during Earth Week.

Many past experiences these students have had relate to their project and have helped to prepare them in many ways. They will continue to monitor the stream behind the school to document the effectiveness of the natural channel design.

We had two speakers come to our school recently to provide the students with background information for their CHEC project. The Director of Planning and Development for the City of Hermitage gave an outstanding presentation on the history of Hermitage dating back to the late 1700s. She also brought maps of the site, construction plans and pictures of the building design for each student. Her presentation included information on many policies and procedures including zoning laws, traffic patterns,sewers and history of other major business developments in the community. She was able to answer many questions the students had prepared such as what will happen to the old Wal-Mart site and why are there many vacant buildings that aren't being used.

The second speaker was the engineer for the Environmental constulting firm hired for the Super Wal-Mart site. This group of students worked with him before on the stream planting project last spring and pre-construction stream testing. He gave a Power Point presentation that included natural channel design, permitting, how wetlands and a riparian zone along the stream help clean run off from the development. He was able to answer many questions the students had.

The seventeen seventh and eighth grade students are now processing all of the information they have gathered through research and from the speakers. They are designing their historic timeline of the City of Hermitage and the Super-Wal Mart development.

The students are very excited and feel empowered by their involvement in this project. They feel that they are protecting "their" stream as best they can. After testing the stream for years and being involved in the restoration they have really taken ownership of Pine Hollow Run. They are doing what they can to make sure the development will be as ecologically sound as possible and will not pollute the stream. They also are planing to work with the urban landscaper hired for the project to assure that native species are selected for planting within the parking lot area. The students may have the opportunity to attend a Planning Meeting with the Commissioners as additional decisions are made on the project.

The students are writing a skit and perhaps a song to tell the story of their Earth Force CHEC project. They look forward to sharing thier project at the Earth Summit in Erie on May 4.