Havelock area schools get grant for rain gardens

Two Havelock schools will be building rain gardens in the spring as part of an educational project funded by the Harold Bate Foundation and administered by the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

Students at Arthur Edwards Elementary School and Annunciation Catholic School will be constructing the rain gardens to learn about habitat and water quality issues.

A rain garden is essentially a filter for stormwater. It is a shallow depression with native plants and is designed to capture rainfall and reduce stormwater runoff.

Fifth-graders will be participating at the two Havelock schools.

The Bate Foundation is providing the N.C. Coastal Federation with $50,000 to be distributed among schools in Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties. The emphasis of the grant will be environmental educational programs.

Pamlico County students will be raising wetlands grasses, while Jones County students will be creating new oyster habitat.

"While rain gardens, wetland nurseries and oyster habitat projects improve the environment, they are also wonderful teaching tools, providing a ‘living classroom' for students," Sarah Phillips, public education and outreach specialist for the coastal federation, said in a statement.