University Of Pennsylvania, University Of Pittsburgh Student-Led Projects Win EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge

On April 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the winners of its ninth annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a national competition that engages college students in the design of on-campus green infrastructure solutions to address stormwater pollution.

This year’s winning projects showcased the environmental, health, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure.

The winners in Pennsylvania include the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh.

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania  won 1st Place in the Demonstration Project Category. 

The team’s entry, titled “Growing Together,” redesigned the Andrew Hamilton Elementary School campus in West Philadelphia to incorporate a variety of green infrastructure practices, as well as raised garden beds and a food forest. 

Extensive stakeholder engagement within the community led to a realistic design that would manage stormwater runoff on-site, connect students to their watershed, and help address food insecurity. Andrew Hamilton Elementary supported the team’s vision and will move forward with project construction this spring.  Read more here.

Click Here to watch the team’s video about their design.

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh won 2nd Place in the Master Plan Category.

The “Team PreciPITTation” entry integrated multiple green infrastructure practices into a master plan design that focused on the elimination of combined sewer overflows. 

Students engaged with internal and external stakeholders to create a design that would manage stormwater runoff and reduce flooding while creating safe, multifunctional spaces accessible to students and the greater Pittsburgh community.  Read more here.

Click Here to watch the team’s video about their project.

“Innovative stormwater management design has the potential to create vibrant and dynamic school campuses to benefit students and the surrounding community,” said EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “This engaging competition encourages problem-solving through design while introducing students to opportunities to join the next generation of clean water professionals. Congratulations to this year’s winners and all of the teams that competed!”

Stormwater runoff is a significant source of water pollution and remains a complex environmental challenge for communities across the country. 

EPA’s Campus RainWorks Challenge asks students and faculty members at colleges and universities to apply green infrastructure design principles, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and increase the use of green infrastructure on the nation’s college campuses. 

Since 2012 more than 750 teams have participated in the challenge.

For more information, visit EPA’s Campus RainWorks Challenge webpage.

(Photo: University of Pennsylvania redesign of West Philadelphia’s Andrew Hamilton School campus.)

NewsClip:

Penn Group Wins EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge

[Posted: April 20, 2021]  PA Environment Digest