Ahead of the Storm - Charlotte Central School
All stormwater runoff from Charlotte Central School drains to a wetland that is near the headwaters of McCabe’s Brook, which eventually flows to the LaPlatte River and into Lake Champlain at Shelburne Bay. It is crucial that the headwaters of McCabe’s Brook do not get overloaded with sediment and pollutants so the brook can support aquatic life, and improve water quality in Lake Champlain. In 2024, a series of new catchbasins, swales, three tree boxes, and a gravel wetland were installed on campus to treat stormwater runoff from the school on site before it enters the McCabe’s Brook headwaters. In 2026, a group of 5th-8th grade CCS students designed interpretive signs for the gravel wetland and tree boxes to help inform other students, staff, families, and the public who visit their campus.
Interpretive sign developed by the CCS Middle School Designers’ Club
History
Prior to 2024, the runoff from the roof, parking lots, driveways, playgrounds, and fields was collected in a series of swales, catchbasins, underdrains, and pipes that generally drain to the northwest to a class 2 wetland along McCabe’s Brook. Runoff traveled directly from impervious surfaces to the pipe network with no treatment. In 2016, LCA worked with CCS students, teachers, and engineers to develop recommendations for the campus through the Ahead of the Storm program, and to establish this as one of the demonstration sites in the program. Due to funding and site constraints, these recommendations were not fully implemented on campus.
Green Schools Initiative
The Green Schools Initiative aims to reduce stormwater runoff and pollution entering Lake Champlain via public school grounds and offers funding and technical assistance to help public schools and state colleges meet Vermont’s Three-Acre General Permit stormwater regulation. Launched in 2021, phase one of the initiative supported 65 schools, including Charlotte Central School, with stormwater design and permitting. Phase two of the initiative (construction) began in 2024. Designs at CCS were completed in 2023 based on the prior work done by LCA and engineers on campus, and a gravel wetland, tree boxes, swales, and new catchbasins were installed in the summer of 2024. Following this construction, LCA began working with 6th grade students, utilizing the “Soaking Up Stormwater” curriculum developed by Lake Champlain Sea Grant, to provide hands-on lessons about stormwater on its school campus, its effect on local watersheds, and ways to help improve water quality, including the new green stormwater infrastructure installed on their campus.
The Ways of water - Student Designed Interpretive Signage
Working with teachers Julia Beerworth and Chris Evans and LCA staff, the CCS Middle School Designers’ Club was tasked with creating interpretive signs for their school’s gravel wetland and tree boxes. During weekly class sessions from January through March 2026, students learned about the design process from Holly Greenleaf of Greenleaf Designs, stormwater problems and solutions on their campus, and worked together in teams to come up with the final collaborative design. You can learn more about the students’ design process and see their drawings here. Stop by CCS to view their The Ways of Water sign in person and learn more about how the gravel wetland works to treat the stormwater from the school parking lot, sidewalks, and roofs.
Green stormwater infrastructure slideshow
Check out the slideshow below to see the project designs, pre construction, construction, and post construction photos for the green stormwater infrastructure installed at CCS. Photo Credits: SLR International (unless noted)
CCS Middle School Designers’ Club Members, along with teachers Julia Beerworth & Chris Evans, and Holly Greenleaf of Greenleaf Designs. Photo credit: Sara Lovitz
CCS students learning about the gravel wetland from SLR engineer, Brian Cote. Photo credit: Sara Lovitz
A special thanks to CCS teachers Chris Evans & Julia Beerworth, CCS students, Holly Greenleaf from Greenleaf Designs, Brian Cote & Jessica Clark Louisos from SLR, Champlain Valley School District, Greenprint Partners, & the Vermont Green Schools Initiative for their contributions to this project.
