Schoolyard BMP Project

Schoolyard BMP (best management practices) projects have occurred at several Lake Tahoe Basin schools. Though each project is unique to the school site, common elements include:

• student involvement in designing the projects
• removal of pavement
• capturing of stormwater and infiltration on the school site
• planting of native plants to restore areas, improve infiltration and provide learning environments
• classroom lessons on watersheds, erosion, lake clarity, native plants, as part of the Teach Tahoe Lesson Plans
• education of parents and the community using the projects as demonstration models, including brochures, open houses, and surveys
• extensive involvement of community partners, including but not limited to:
  • agencies such as Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC), Placer County and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)
  • nonprofits such as Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships (SWEP), Sierra Nevada Alliance, and Lake of the Sky Garden Club
  • Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) and Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD)
  • Parent Teacher Organizations at each school
  • media such as KOLO TV and local newspapers
  • local businesses such as Basile Management Practices, Teichert Aggregates, Aqua Pura, The Rock Garden, Sagan Design Group

The BMP Demonstration Garden at Tahoe Lake Elementary School in Tahoe City is the most complex schoolyard BMP project to date and is available as a model for future projects.

How can SWEP help?

SWEP can help teachers design small schoolyard BMP projects and make connections with resource agenices and other community resources. For more information on our projects, please contact Jan Ellis, SWEP’s Project Director, at jan@4swep.org.

• 530-525-9457 • PO Box 1096, Homewood CA 96141 • Revised 11/14/06