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Politics & Government

High Tech High Students Learn About Plants, Stop Pollution with Rain Garden

The new rain garden at High Tech High ties in with the biology class's botany unit

The next time it rains at the High Technology High School, instead of the water that falls on the visitor's parking lot carrying pollutants and pesticides into the storm drain that leads to a creek which leads to the Swimming River Reservoir, it will be trapped by the school's brand new rain garden.

The garden, on the school's Brookdale Community College Campus in Lincroft,  is a depression dug into the ground lined with a plastic tarp, mulch, and soil, and filled with plants native to New Jersey that will absorb excess water and pollutants.

Their roots and the soil will filter and absorb pesticides sprayed on the lawn and oil residue from cars parking on the lot, and microorganisms will render the pollutants harmless through a process called bioremediation.

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 "Pollutants certainly complicate the treatment process," said Michael T. Roche, High Tech High School biology teacher, who helped organize the implementation of the rain garden and got his freshmen students involved. "They certainly cause negative effects on the plant and animal life in the creek and the reservoir." 

Water from Swimming River Reservoir, bordering the campus, is treated so it is safe for consumption, and then becomes the tap water for local residents.

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With a grant from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the help of three Monmouth County master gardeners, and the Brookdale Community College staff and their digging machines, Roche and all 74 of the school's freshmen completed the rain garden project on Tuesday.

For many, it was a first time experience getting their hands dirty actually putting plants in the ground, which coincided perfectly with what they just learned in biology class. 

"The timing with this project was ideal to get all of my freshmen involved, because I could use class time to teach about plants hands-on, it matched up with our schedule," said Roche. "Every freshman was able to interact with the master gardeners. In terms of curriculum, the timing was perfect, because we had just finished this unit on plants."

Vegetation in the garden includes blueberry bushes, American holly, Japanese holly, river birch, juniper, and chokeberry. All species are native to New Jersey, and all plants were purchased from local farms with the grant money.

"There will be a total of 16 different species, including annuals that we'll plant later," said freshman Austin Eng.

The garden isn't much to look at now, but in the coming years, the young plants will grow into sturdy trees and bushes that are both scenic and good for the environment. 

"At first it sleeps, then it creeps, then it leaps," said freshman Czarinah Libang, quoting an aphorism about perennials she heard from a master gardener as she watered the young plants and picked a blueberry to eat.

High Tech High has a research requirement for all students, and Roche said the garden is a rich opportunity for students to conduct research projects next year with variables such as different soils or the edges of the garden next to either the parking lot or the field.

The garden also ties in perfectly with High Tech's pre-engineering curriculum because it is engineered for problem solving -- it addresses an environmental problem using life forms.

 "It was a really nice culminating activity that fit in with many themes of our school," Roche said.

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