Low Impact Design Storm-Water Study

The EPA Gulf of Mexico Program has provided funding for North Water Tower Park field trips including service learning with exotic plant removal and water quality testing.

In this inquiry-based activity students will map the flow of water from their school site to Sarasota Bay and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. Students will analyze water quality in the field and any accessible adjacent waterways. Students will create a model LID program for a real site.

Field trip sites include

• North Water Tower Park, Sarasota
• Oscar Scherer State Park
• Bay Preserve, Osprey
• 5th Street LID Project & Emerson Point, Palmetto.

Students will understand the concept of watershed. Students will understand that non-point source pollution can be mitigated by the principals of Low Impact Design. Students will document and understand the distinction between native, non-native, and non-native invasive plants.