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The 2024/2025 RiverSmart Schools Application Deadline is Friday, March 7, 2025. For questions, please reach out to P. Trinh Doan, [email protected].
RiverSmart Schools - Schoolyard Greening & Conservation
For teachers and their students of all ages, pre-K through 12th grade.
RiverSmart Schools provide funding and training to DC Public and Charter Schools interested in transforming bland outdoor spaces into vibrant, green spaces to teach, learn, play, and manage stormwater runoff.
Each year, DOEE selects three (3) schools to design and construct a large-scale schoolyard greening project. Through the program, teachers, students, and school administrators participate in design charettes, trainings, educational boat tours, and other activities that build a deeper understanding of the impacts of stormwater runoff on the District’s watersheds. Training occurs during the school year, while construction occurs over the summer months.
In the first year following project completion, DOEE’s contractor is responsible for watering the young plants and replacing any that do not survive. After the first year of installation, the school is expected to become stewards of their new outdoor classroom by cleaning up trash, watering, weeding, and maintaining the gardens.
Funding for this program is primarily supported by the EPA’s Clean Water Construction State Revolving Fund.
To participate in the program, a school must submit an application. The next application deadline is Friday, March 7, 2025.
For questions, reach out to P. Trinh Doan, [email protected].
2026 RiverSmart Schools Projects
- Capital City Public Charter School
- H.D Cooke Elementary School
- Payne Elementary School
During the 2024-2025 School Year, these schools will begin receiving training and other educational programming. Design will occur in winter/spring 2026, with construction to take place in the summer/fall of 2026.
2025 RiverSmart Schools Projects ($798,000)
- Friendship Public Charter School Ideal
- Ketcham Elementary School
- Langley Elementary School
- Plummer Elementary School
- Noyes Elementary School
These schools are in the final stages of design, and construction is expected to take place in summer of 2025.
2024 RiverSmart Schools Projects ($835,000)
Friendship Public Charter School Blow Pierce (Ward 7, Anacostia River – lower subwatershed, CSS)
With the support of Central Office Admin, the Friendship Blow Pierce teachers and students wanted to start a garden program. The RiverSmart Schools project created an outdoor classroom, a pollinator garden, and raised beds for edible plantings. The outcomes include:
- Strategic placement of 20 wood stumps from Urban Wood Reuse program for the outdoor classroom space.
- Installation of a large outdoor whiteboard
- A new storage bench size bin for teaching materials
- Creation of 8 planting beds along the building filled with native flowering shrubs
On the garden planting day, volunteers hauled compost and topsoil to fill these planting beds. Students quickly made use of the outdoor classroom by exploring the wooden stumps and the new native seedlings.
Hendley Elementary School (Title 1, Ward 8, Potomac River – Oxon Run subwatershed, MS4)
Through the RiverSmart Schools project, Hendley Elementary School removed 16,316 square feet of impervious surface and created a bioretention basin with native meadow planting, canopy trees, an ADA ramp, and an outdoor learning lab. The outcomes include:
- 898 gallons of stormwater treatment volume
- 32,225 square feet of contributing drainage area improved
- 16,316 square feet of impervious surface removed
- 25 new canopy trees planted
- 85 Pre-K through 4th graders participated in preparing the meadow and planting seedlings
- 4 teachers trained on how to use the new outdoor learning lab
- School administrators created a schedule for equitable access to the new outdoor learning lab
Johnson Middle School (Title 1, Ward 8, Anacostia River – Suitland-Stickfoot subwatershed, MS4)
The RiverSmart School project involves the addition of a bioretention garden to capture roof, blacktop, and walkway drainage to reduce the quantity of stormwater runoff and improve the water quality before returning back to the conveyance system. New trees planted and 10 feet-long wood benches from recycled urban lumber (through the DDOT Urban Wood Reuse program) were added to the outdoor learning labs. The outcomes include:
- 5,360 gallons of stormwater retention achieved
- 3,324 gallons of treatment achieve
- 22,232 square feet of total area improved
- 4,417 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credit eligibility
- 45 middle schoolers participated in the planting of the bioretention native perennials & shrubs
- Creation of additional opportunities to incorporate student environmental interests into the curriculum.
Takoma Elementary School (Title 1, Ward 4, Rock Creek – Luzon Branch subwatershed, MS4)
The Takoma Elementary campus applied for the RiverSmart Schools program to create outdoor areas that minimize asphalt and prioritize a natural environment. Through the program, they installed features that improved water quality, added shade, and enhanced cooling elements. The outcomes include:
- 6,620 gallons of on-site stormwater retention achieved
- 27,947 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 7,886 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credit eligibility
- 12 new canopy trees planted
- 2 classrooms of students and their teachers participated in planting the bioretention garden.
Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School (Title 1, Ward 8, Anacostia River – Suitland Stickfoot subwatershed, MS4)
This project is the first and only shared school garden between a D.C. Charter and a Public School (Alfred Kiger Savoy Elementary School). Through the RiverSmart Schools program, the school revived the garden space with a variety of elements that include stormwater management, edible garden beds, and a native wildlife habitat. The outcomes include:
- Removed old, raised beds and installed six (6) new ones with 4 pallets of compost to fill the beds and the garden space.
- Created pathways in the garden with a layer of woodchips.
- At the garden installation day, students and volunteers planted 30 native perennials, assembled 4 new raised beds, and took apart decaying wood beds. The remaining wooden pieces from the old beds were broken down with tools and placed in the bottom of the new beds.
2023 RiverSmart Schools Projects ($798,000)
Anacostia High School (Title 1, Ward 8, Anacostia River – Ft. Stanton Tributary, MS4)
Anacostia High School removed 21,000 square feet of asphalt to reduce its football field’s heat island effect. Through the RiverSmart Schools project, Anacostia High School installed bioswales to manage stormwater, improve drainage, address vector issues, protect water quality, and conserve water. RiverSmart also created an outdoor classroom and learning areas using boulders, wooden pergola, and cathedral of tree plantings. The outcomes include:
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- 6,835 gallons of on-site retention achieved
- 15,568 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 5,886 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credit eligibility
- 15 new canopy trees planted
Friendship Public Charter School Collegiate Academy (Title 1, Ward 7, Anacostia River – Watts Branch subwatershed, MS4)
Friendship Collegiate has a Green Club seeking to bring students to the nearby gardens during the out-of-school time activities and to earn community service hours. Through RiverSmart Schools, Friendship Collegiate created a highly vegetated, flexible outdoor learning space. The outcomes include:
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- Transplanted existing apple trees to give them more root canopy space
- Installed two new shade trees
- Installed a shed that holds outdoor learning materials
- At the community planting day, students and teachers from the Green Club assembled the storage shed and planted a tree and 100 native plants at the outdoor learning lab.
Lee Montessori Public Charter School East End (Title 1, Ward 8, Anacostia River – Naylor subwatershed, MS4)
Practical life in the garden is the goal at Lee Montessori. On the community planting day, students conduct outdoor tasks such as digging, planting, sweeping up leaves, watering, and so forth. With the RiverSmart Schools funding, Lee Montessori removed concrete and asphalt to install a pollinator garden with cisterns draining to an infiltration planter and an outdoor learning lab with boulders for seating and trees that will provide shade in a few years. The outcomes include:
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- 374 gallons of on-site stormwater retention achieved
- 2,960 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 876 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credits eligibility
- 10 new canopy trees planted
- 25 school community members including students participated in the planting of perennials, shrubs, and raised beds herbs.
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Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School Calle Ocho (Ward 5, Anacostia River – Northwest Branch subwatershed, MS4)
MVC8 has a curriculum that focuses on sustainability and biliteracy through expeditionary learning. Through its engagement with RiverSmart Schools, MVC8 created an outdoor learning lab with appurtenance native landscaping. The outcomes include:
- Installed 10 Vego raised beds that act as a barrier between the outdoor classroom and the street. There are gaps in the barrier and beds are connected by trellises to carry vining vegetables.
- At the community planting day event, students, staff, and parents participated in filling the garden beds with compost soil, assembling the raised beds and arbors. Native plants, including the highbush blueberries, were planted.
- MVC8’s sustainability learning goals have helped teachers connect the new environmental standards and the work they are already doing in the classroom to take it one step further by adding an experience in nature and taking on a project that improves their community.
Two Rivers Public Charter School Young Campus (Ward 5, Anacostia River – Kingman Lake subwatershed, MS4)
The expeditionary learning model at Two Rivers Public Charter School allows students the opportunity to conduct in-depth project-based fieldwork. Using the RiverSmart gardens and stormwater components, the students are engaged in many learning opportunities. The outcomes include:
- 836 gallons of on-site stormwater retention achieved
- 2,392 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 836 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credits eligibility
- 4 classrooms rotate to help plant the native perennials and “play” the watershed simulation model to learn about the impact of land use in the Kingman Lake subwatershed.
2022 RiverSmart Schools Projects ($598,700)
Friendship Public Charter School Armstrong Campus (Ward 5, Anacostia River watershed, CSS)
Through exploratory STEAM curriculum, the Armstrong campus seeks to find the joy of learning through discovery and endless opportunities in outdoor learning spaces. With a long bioswale along the perimeter of the school parking lot, a cistern, and a serpentine walkway to the outdoor classroom, the scholars are able to explore the native wildlife habitat. The outcomes include:
- 19,227 gallons of on-site stormwater retention achieved
- 45,550 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 5,520 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credits eligibility
Noyes Elementary School (Title 1, Ward 5, Anacostia River watershed, CSS)
The Noyes Elementary School gardening club integrated the garden instruction into the Turnaround Arts (TA) program. Two classes went on a boat trip to discover the rich ecology of the river and understand the stresses on the river. Students also began the process of generating ideas in ways they can help support the health of the District’s waterways. The outcome includes:
- 4 new shade tree plantings
- Walking paths to the garden space
- 3 raised beds constructed for native flowers
Shining Stars Montessori Academy Public Charter School (Ward 5, Anacostia River – Northwest Branch subwatershed, MS4)
Shining Stars Montessori Academy strives to connect nature and gardens into the Montessori curriculum. Through RiverSmart Schools, Shining Stars installed outdoor learning labs. Multi-aged classroom students went on an interpretive boat ride down the Anacostia River with Anacostia Watershed Society. Students and school staff learned what challenges their watershed faces and an appreciation for the living things it sustains. The outcomes include:
- 4 raised beds for edibles
- a pollinator garden, paths, trellis, and site elements for the birds and insects.
Stanton Elementary School (Title 1, Ward 8, Potomac River – Oxon Run subwatershed, MS4)
Stanton scholars are highly energetic and curious about nature. The school strives to provide a learning experience through a nurturing environment in order to achieve systemic changes in society that result in excellence and equity for all. Stanton’s engagement in the RiverSmart Schools program revitalized a clogged rain garden, installed a bioretention, and created an outdoor classroom space. The outcomes include:
- 20,456 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 2,006 cubic feet of stormwater retention volume achieved
- 3,182.4 cubic feet of bioretention storage volume
St. Thomas More Catholic Academy (Title 1, Ward 8, Potomac River – Oxon Run subwatershed, MS4)
St. Thomas More Catholic Academy has strong support from the school admin, board members, students, parents, and partner organizations that has allowed for the installation of the rain gardens and meaningful outdoor instruction. Through their Project Zero framework, the garden space serves as an outdoor learning lab for scientific disciplines. The outcomes include:
- 135 square feet of concrete were removed
- 10,058 gallons of on-site stormwater retention achieved
- 29,785 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 9,415 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credits eligibility
2021 RiverSmart Schools Projects ($598,800)
Cleveland Elementary School (Title 1, Ward 1, Anacostia River watershed, CSS)
Cleveland Elementary School has a school garden program with City Blossoms. Funding from RiverSmart Schools reduced stormwater runoff on the schoolyard and provided associated educational opportunities. The improvements include two rainwater cisterns, an outdoor classroom area, infiltration beds, and associated native landscaping. At the community planting day, students from grades 3-5 and their teachers planted over 100 native plants and used the cistern water to keep the new plants moist. The outcomes include:
- 3,000 gallons of stormwater retention volume achieved
- 15,500 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School (Ward 5, Anacostia River – Northwest Branch subwatershed, MS4)
Stokes Public Charter School has a school garden enrichment that integrates into their International Baccalaureate and Dual Language Immersion programs. The RiverSmart Schools funding helped create the outdoor classroom space, plant new native trees, create raised beds, and establish a standard permeable pavement parking lot. The outcomes include:
- Removal of a 40-foot-tall Ailanthus altissima invasive tree (tree of heaven) and planting of native shade trees around the perimeter of the newly installed permeable pavers parking lot.
- 4,425 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
Friendship Public Charter School Technology Preparatory Campus (Ward 8, Potomac River watershed, MS4)
The Tech Prep campus offers an urban farming and an aquaponics elective to students. Through RiverSmart Schools, Tech Prep installed two cistern tanks that collect water from the classroom trailer, that overflows to the new bioretention garden with new planted trees for shade, and an outdoor classroom. The outcomes include:
- 7,896 gallons of on-site stormwater retention achieved
- 17,750 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 9,027 gallons of Stormwater Retention Credits eligibility
- At the community planting event, high school students, staff, and community members planted trees, native perennials, and re-mulched the outdoor classroom paths.
John Burroughs Elementary School (Title 1, Ward 5, Anacostia River – Northwest Branch subwatershed, MS4)
As a STEM-focused school, Burroughs Elementary School seeks to align learning experiences with Next Generation Science Standards. Students learn gardening, cooking, and nutrition education in the STEM lab, outdoor classroom, and garden. The outcomes include:
- Installation of two (2) rainwater cisterns
- New tree planting to provide shade in the outdoor classroom spaces
- Two (2) raised beds for native pollinator plants.
Turner Elementary School (Title 1, Ward 8, Potomac River – Oxon Run subwatershed, MS4)
Turner Elementary School is an International Baccalaureate World School that seeks to encourage students to ask big questions about the world and how to build a sustainable society. Through RiverSmart Schools, Turner Elementary installed new outdoor classroom areas, new trees, permeable unit pavers, infiltration beds, and associated native landscaping. The stormwater outcomes include:
- 4,220 square feet of total contributing drainage area improved
- 340 square feet of permeable pavers with 113 cubic feet of storage volume
- Students and teachers planted 110 native perennials at the outdoor classroom space.
More information on projects installed before 2021 is coming soon!