all Funded Projects - by year
|
The Carmel Green Teen Micro-Grant Program has funded 67 youth-driven projects to help make Carmel/Clay Township a greener, more sustainable community.
For projects that took place 2009-2018, click on any project title or photo below to visit the webpage dedicated to that project. Projects from 2019-2021 do not have individual webpages, but are described here. |
2021
Community Backyard Conservation Projects
Helping Ninjas taught students via their website and in-person through educational programs about the many, simple things everyone can do to help conserve water, to organically garden, and to compost waste. Students helped build and promote compost bins to be used as a pilot program to see if there is interest in a shared neighborhood composting program. They will share their results on their website, HelpingNinjas.com.
Founders Park Native Pollinator Garden
Helping Ninjas pulled invasive species plants at Founders Park and planted native Indiana plants that attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. Plants that have grown in Indiana for a long time and are healthy and helpful are called "native" plants. Invasive plants are those that were never from Indiana, and they often bully and crowd out the native plants that are needed for a healthy ecosystem. The Ninjas will continue to educate other students to bring awareness to the importance of pollinators and the harmful effects of inorganic pesticides and invasive species.
|
Project No Students in the Heat
Students at University High School funded shade sails for use in their Outdoor Environmental Lab. The shades give students the ability to be outside even when the UV rays are at their strongest. The UHS Outdoor Environmental Lab is utilized by science teachers and enjoyed by students, staff, and visitors. This educational outdoor learning area contains organic garden beds, compost bins, pollinator gardens, picnic tables, Leopold Benches, and more!
Ten-thousand Trees in Carmel
Did you know that volunteers in Carmel have a goal to plant 10,000 trees by the year 2030? Students in the Helping Ninjas club will purchase tree saplings and seeds and work with the father-daughter group called Carmel Clean-up Crew to help them with their goal of planting 10,000 trees in Carmel in ten years. According the the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is right now. Visit their website here, for handy tips on planting trees and for access to discounted healthy, native Indiana tree saplings.
|
2020
Natural Weed Control in Community Garden Paths
Weeds in the paths surrounding the 100 garden plots were a big problem at the CCS Plots to Plates Organic Community Garden. Girl Scout Annie D. researched, organized, and led a natural (non-chemical) weed-control pilot project to address this problem. The project involved weed-whacking or tilling a portion of the garden paths and leading a group in laying three layers cardboard, and then covering the cardboard with 4" of large wood chips to prevent weeds naturally by shading them out. The project was so successful at suppressing weeds, the gardeners used the same method to complete the rest of the garden paths in 2021. Kudos to the team of over 50 volunteers who found a way to safely complete this project during a pandemic!
|
2019
Pollinator Garden and Birdhouses for Central Park
Orchard Park Elementary Green Cubs planted 380 plant plugs of native Indiana pollinator plants in a recreation area west of the Central Park Monon Center. They also built four bluebird houses, which are installed by the lagoon. Encouraging native plants to grow helps prevent the growth of invasive plants, and gives pollinators like butterflies and bees the right kind of food to live and grow.
|
Food Pantry Garden Plot
Helping Ninjas continued to plant and donate locally grown organic vegetables in their garden plot at the CCS Plots to Plates Organic Community Garden. The 4’ x 15’ garden plot serves as an educational tool for students at Carmel Clay Schools. In 2019, the Nnjas donated over 400 pounds of fresh tomatoes and other vegetables to Second Helpings Food Pantry.
Pollinator Garden & Nature Educational Path
at Founders Park Helping Ninjas students from College Wood Elementary School planted pollinator plants and installed educational labels on them near the education center at Founders Park in Carmel. These native Indiana plants encourage butterflies, bee, and other pollinators to live and thrive. Native pollinators are vital for pollinating Indiana agricultural crops such as alfalfa, melons, soybeans, and sunflowers.
|
Green Team Spices it Up
Smoky Row Green Team students purchased, helped install, and will maintain a vertical herb garden on the wall of their school. The herbs are used in the school cafeteria where the entire school community will taste and try out the various herbs in different recipes. This project inspires students to try new foods, to become familiar with how to grow plants, and to understand plant life cycles and how plants keep our air clean.
UHS Second Floor Hydration Station
Students at University High School purchased a water bottle filling station for the second floor of their school. Re-filling water bottles is much more environmentally sustainable than purchasing disposable ones. UHS has two other hydration stations, funded through a Carmel Green Teen grant in 2015. The students were able to modify standard water fountains to become water bottle refilling stations.
|
2018
Helping Ninjas students from College Wood Elementary School came together on Memorial Day Weekend, spending the holiday removing non-native invasive plants in three large areas of Founders Park in Carmel. Once cleared, the soil in these areas was improved and planted with plants native to Indiana which encourage butterflies, bee, and other pollinators to live and thrive.
|
The Orchard Park Elementary School Green Cubs designed, distributed, and promoted reusable grocery bags to the entire school community. The reusable shopping bags included fact sheets about why it is important to use the bags and why it is important to reuse and recycle in school and at home. The project included daily announcements and a Green Bag Challenge to see which classrooms and individuals could use the bags most often.
|
|
2017
University High School students built, installed and taught their school community about bat boxes and the benefits of mosquito eating bats in their outdoor spaces. Students researched bat population conservation methods and found that bat boxes provide a safe haven and resting place for the animals. These bat boxes are an interactive educational tool and natural pest control for their Outdoor Classroom.
|
The "Don't Flip It! Save It!" project provided and promoted reusable water bottles instead of disposable ones at Smoky Row Elementary School. Students from the Smoky Row Green Team were happy to promote the bottles for the end of the year track and field day, where many disposable cups and water bottles are normally used.
|
Forty-nine volunteers from Boy Scout Troop 120 pulled invasive Japanese honeysuckle vines and replaced them with plants indigenous to Indiana to restore native habitats at River Road Park in Carmel. Led by Drew B. for his Eagle Scout project, the team logged in over 190 man hours of work. Japanese honeysuckle damages forest communities by out competing native vegetation for light, below-ground resources, and by changing forest structure, which endangers native plant and animal habitats.
|
2016
Smoky Row Elementary Green Team students promoted and distributed reusable shopping bags during Earth Week. Students learned how reusable bags save resources and produce less waste. Students created an educational brochure distributed to each student in his or her free reusable shopping bag, and video announcements described the benefits of using reusable rather than disposable bags.
Scouts in Boy Scout Troop 109 replanted a long neglected Teaching Butterfly Garden in a Woodbrook Elementary School courtyard area. The area now contains a mix of hardy annual and perennial flowers that will create habitats for Indiana’s native butterfly populations and pollinator insect and bird species. Second grade students will use this garden as part of their curriculum, learning about the life cycle of a butterfly.
Orchard Park Elementary School Green Cubs students planted a Tulip Poplar tree on campus this year to help everyone remember the many benefits of trees and their role in a healthy environment. The Green Cubs have learned and taught other students about how trees benefit our environment by providing habitats for insects and animals, protecting the soil from erosion, cleaning our dirty air, and providing shade and beauty.
Members of Boy Scout troop 120 were joined by community members to enhance and expand a nature trail near the Millbrook neighborhoods. Improvements included clearing the existing trails and expanding the trail along a creek to enable visitors to enjoy easy access to nature and wildlife on the DNR owned property. Scouts also created and installed simple post-markers to guide visitors through the trails and encourage people to enjoy and conserve natural areas.
|
Members of Boy Scout troop 202 and their families built a large, wooden, 3-compartment compost bin system at the CCS Plots to Plates Organic Community Garden. Educational signs were added to the bins to teach gardeners how to use them. The community garden generates lots of organic waste, and composting will allow the garden scraps to be broken down and utilized to feed future garden plants.
Scouts in Boy Scout Troop 125 noticed that many Indiana Ash trees in the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church public areas had been destroyed by the invasive insect pest, the emerald ash borer. These large trees had provided habitats for many different animals while helping purify the air. The Scouts replaced ten of the removed Ash trees with a variety of healthy, drought tolerant and disease resistant shade trees native to Indiana.
Students in University High School science classes have found a unique way to use chickens to connect with nature, to learn about our food system, and to understand various complex ecosystems. Student volunteers and community members are maintaining and caring for the chickens on campus on a daily basis. Waste from the chicken coops will be composted and used to fertilize the UHS teaching and pollinator gardens,
both of which were funded by the Carmel Green Teens in previous years. Scouts in Boy Scout troop 576 created a self-guided tour of the CCS Plates to Plots Organic Community Garden. The garden tour consists of seven educational stations describing the areas of the garden that benefit the environment. The scouts worked with representatives from the school and garden to design and install educational signs at each station and to create hand-held maps leading a visitor from one station to the next.
|
2015
Orchard Park Elementary fifth graders chose to promote and facilitate event recycling at their school by purchasing five Clear Stream portable recycling collection containers as well as promotional items. They use the containers at after school events such as Movie Night, Literacy Night, Ice Cream Social, and more. Students from the OPE Recycling Cubs attend the events and display posters and wear stickers that remind others to recycle.
|
Clay Middle School students noticed that many of their fellow students were throwing their plastic bottles in the trash instead of the recycling bin, so they decided to take action. They first educated students about how to save money and the environment by using reusable water bottles through posters and a website. Students also worked with administration to install a water bottle refilling station near the school cafeteria to discourage disposable water bottle use.
|
The Carmel High School Environmental Sustainability Club hosted an educational gathering at the CCS Plots to Plates Organic Community Garden on May 23, 2015. Various local groups such as the CCS Green Team, Earth Charter Indiana, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, and others were invited to share information and teach visitors about what can be done on a local level to live healthier, more sustainable lifestyles.
|
The University High School EcoBlazers built a perennial flower garden specifically designed to attract and support Monarch butterflies. While the garden’s focus is providing for the Monarch butterfly, the plant selection attracts a wide variety of butterflies, moths and pollinators. The Blazer Butterfly Garden will meets official criteria set by monarchwatch.org that allows it to be registered as an official Monarch Waystation.
|
To promote reusable water bottle use, the students on the University High School Stewardship committee discovered that there needed to be easier ways for students to fill water bottles in their school. With their Carmel Green Teen grant, they purchased and installed a water bottle filling station and and worked with the Athletic Department to purchase a second station. Initial estimates suggest that these stations have led to the reduction of at least 80 plastic disposable water bottles daily each.
|
Members of the Carmel High School National Honor Society are providing event recycling beginning the 2015-2016 school year. They are creating recycle stations at each event where NHS members will be present and earn group hours to promote recycling of plastics, aluminum, and paper. Recycling will be provided at select high volume athletic, performing arts, and other after-school events. They are working with the school administration to streamline emptying the bins as well as ensuring that the recycling dumpsters can accommodate the extra recycling.
|
2014 |
2013
2012
2011
|
|
|
|