?EUR??,,????'??Several of the sites on our property list were at the schools. Officials saw an opportunity to protect the lake and get children involved at the same time. Part of what we like to do is public education,?EUR??,,????'?? said Mark Richmond of the storm water management division of the county?EUR??,,????'???s Department of Public Works.

The next step was to turn to the school?EUR??,,????'???s officials and explain the situation, the need for vegetation to protect the lake and get involvement from the children.

Centennial and Wilde Lake high schools are doing similar projects, he commented. The project at Wilde Lake will filter water running toward Wilde Lake.

?EUR??,,????'??We went to the computer and went on Web sites to see what plant would be best for what seasons and what months,?EUR??,,????'?? said Victoria Michel, 13. ?EUR??,,????'??I know I recommended lots of flowers. I don?EUR??,,????'???t remember all the names, but I recommended lots of trees and black-eyed Susans.?EUR??,,????'??

The pupils chose black-eyed Susans, red maples, blue irises, switch grasses and river birch for the site, which is about 150 feet long by 50 feet wide.

About 400 seventh- and eight-graders participated said Kathleen Tunney, the seventh-grade science teacher. The land was merely a slope covered with grass before, she said, with a single drain for runoff.

In the future, it will pick up trash and filter out pollutants, remarks Richmond. And it will increase environmental awareness among pupils, he says. ?EUR??,,????'??The higher impact is we?EUR??,,????'???re getting kids involved,?EUR??,,????'?? Richmond said.

?EUR??,,????'??The plants they chose represent aesthetic value throughout the seasons,?EUR??,,????'?? said Jim Fetchu, landscape architect with Charles P. Johnson and Associates, which has been involved with the project, along with landscape contractor Environmental Quality Resources, which supplied the plants and donated materials.