The Together Project, a collaborative effort between the City of Broken Arrow and Broken Arrow Public Schools (BAPS), has been awarded the Public Communication Award from the Water Environment Federation (WEF). The City and BAPS will be featured in a virtual awards ceremony at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 7, on WEFTEC Connect.
City engineers and Broken Arrow High School students created an outdoor classroom and training center focused on educating the student body and the general public on environmental stewardship benefits. Started in 2017, the Together Project’s three goals are to protect the community’s floodplains, improve source water quality, and enhance the natural habitat within Tiger Creek and the larger Adams Creek watershed.
“The backing of the community is what’s surprised me more than anything,” said Kenny Schwab, assistant city manager of operations. “It’s been extremely rewarding having many people in the community be a part of it.” Broken Arrow students gained valuable hands-on experience by working with City staff to design and construct a floating wetland in the shape of the school logo.
The project also includes a rain garden, a nature park, a master plan for the Tiger Creek watershed corridor, a litter prevention program and an art competition.
“I’ve been to many homeowners association and similar meetings to talk about the project, and they want more,” Schwab said. “They want boardwalks and overlooks; they want trails tied in. So I see this as a long term project. We have a lot of work that we have to do.” Design team students will have the opportunity to present the plan to the BAPS school board and the Broken Arrow City Council in the near future.
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