WEATHER STATIONS & RAIN GARDENS:LINKING CLIMATE CHANGE & ADAPTATION Joseph McLaughlin 1, Mentors: Ryan C. Locicero 2, Dr. Maya A. Trotz 2 1. Howard W. Blake High School; 2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida For more information about the program visit: The Water Awareness Research and Education (WARE) Research Experience for Teachers (RET) is funded by the National Science Foundation under award number This research has also been supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's STAR program through grant and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. It has not been subjected to any NSF, EPA, or TBEP review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred. Abstract Objectives Background Approach References  Bannerman, R and Considine, E. (2003). Rain Gardens: A How-To Manual for Homeowners. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and University of Wisconsin-Extension.  D’Abreau, M. (2010). Rain Gardens: A Manual for Central Florida Residents. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Hillsborough County Extension Service and the Florida Department of Transportation.  Locicero, R. Rain Gardens. Mainstreaming Green Infrastructure: The Nexus of Infrastructure for Urban Stormwater & Education using the Green Space Based Learning (GSBL) Framework. Tampa, FL: WordPress. Available at: taken on 7/24/14http://raingardens.us Climate change predictions of changes in the amount of rainfall and the intensity of rainfall directly link to flooding, especially in low-lying coastal areas. Adaptation to climate change in this case will usually look at interventions that help to reduce the impact of flood events on local communities. In the Tampa Bay region, stormwater runoff contributes to pollutant loads in the Bay and green infrastructure, rain gardens in particular, are being used to handle runoff closer to the source. Through the USF WARE-RET program, these are being introduced to K-12 communities and implemented on school campuses as project based activities that also create Green Space Based Learning Environments. This research aims to introduce the topic of adaptation as it relates to changes in rainfall as well as develop student understanding of the implications this has on the local area under near term and predicted long term variability.  To incorporate localized weather data in math curriculum that teaches graphing etc..  To design a rain garden given actual weather data for a particular area/ site location.  To monitor rain garden performance as a function of weather. To introduce the topic of adaptation as it relates to changes in rainfall as well as develop student understanding of the implications stormwater runoff has on the local area under short term and predicted long term variability the following steps will be implemented:  Installation and use of a weather station at the school. The school compound was surveyed and discussions are under way with facilities personnel and staff on placement. The receiver needs to be in an office with a window close to the station and where students can view data. Data will also be downloaded for classroom activity. Lesson plans on weather and climate from Climate Science Resources will be adapted to use local weather station data and that from the Tampa Airport ( materials/index.php) materials/index.php  Observation of the local school environment during rainfall events.  Evaluate the infiltration rates at different locations on school property.  Design and construct a rain garden to “adapt” to rainfall.  Evaluate its limitations for handling different amounts and intensities of rainfall. “Florida receives over 50 inches of rain water … Today, the leading threat to Florida’s water resources and quality of this resource is nonpoint source pollution. Every time it rains, pollutants such as soil particles, pesticides, fertilizers, oil, grass clipping and other waste travel over yards and pavements in the form of stormwater runoff.” D’Abreau (2010) To date five ~ 2ft deep rain gardens have been built by teachers and students in the Hillsborough County School District as a part of the Water Awareness Research and Education (WARE) program out of the University of South Florida. Figure 2. Hillsborough county watershed with an insert showing land use coverage categories as a percentage of land area in the Lower Hillsborough River Watershed where Blake High School is located. Taken from: Taken from: Figure 4. Example of a rain garden with an internal water storage zone. Taken from content/uploads/2013/06/Rain-Garden- Properties.png Blake High School Lower Hillsborough River Watershed Figure 1. Rain garden installation at Young Middle Magnet on 6/24/14. This was a required activity for all 2014 RET participants. These rain gardens are placed where stakeholders identify flooding to be a problem and are designed to handle 1” rainfall. They can be linked to local rainfall by comparing weather data with rain garden performance. Figure 3. (a) Weather station installed at Young Middle Magnet adjacent to a rain garden pilot site; (b) Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 Weather Station (Wireless). Davis Instruments WeatherLink USB Software ($600) This project will be implemented at Blake High School located in the Lower Hillsborough River Watershed of the Tampa Bay region (Figure 2) which is 92% urban and built up.