Science lesson may save water for district in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A science class project to save water has turned out to be so successful that the South Bay's largest school district is thinking about deploying it to all its other schools.

There is a lot of grass on Willow Glen High School's four-acre campus, but outdoor watering is one of the targets of conservation. So students there have developed an ideal solution.

It started with a demonstration garden at Willow Glen High School. Students planted California native plants as a lesson in Justin Bursch's science class. That led to another garden, and another, as the water savings grew obvious.

"In a given landscaped area, which we water maybe twice a week, we're now going to dramatically reduce that to about once a month, and a lot of it is just off the natural rainfall," grounds and maintenance supervisor Nick Nakao said.

Nakao is now trying to spread these drought-tolerant gardens to all 42 schools in the district to replace thirsty lawns and plants. The schools are under the same mandate to reduce usage by 30 percent. At the same time, students are learning lessons they can take home to save water.

Jonathan and Elysa Dombro, both ninth graders, say they enjoyed getting their hands in the dirt.

"It's really cool because not it's something you'd normally do. Not a lot of people have gardens around here. We do, so we've have experience with that, but it was cool seeing other people help out," Dombro said.

Bursch considers it an ideal learning experience. He told ABC7 News, "I think they feel empowered. They feel like they can really do something about the drought, that they don't just have to be spectators and that they can actually have a hand in the solution."

Of course, they've learned that young native plants can be casualties of foot traffic.

"At first people didn't realize what was here. Some of the smaller plants got stepped on. But once they took off, it was very successful," Bursch said.

The district's high school football fields already have been converted to synthetic turf. The urinals are flush-free. Water saved can be used where it's needed, such as the cafeteria.