(Photo by Shelley Hanson) Central Elementary School third graders, center, from left, Khailyah Ragland, Jennifer Jenkins, Jurnee Hicks, Jesse Doyle, Jaxson Rice and Spencer Unger take part in a hands-on program about the city’s stormwater system using an enviroscape. The program was led Wednesday by Joe Smith, at left, stormwater coordinator for the city of Moundsville, and Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy. Also shown taking photos with her phone is their teacher Erin Rogerson.

MOUNDSVILLE – Central Elementary School’s third graders got a fun, hands-on lesson about the importance of being good stewards of the Earth on Wednesday.

Joe Smith, stormwater coordinator for the city of Moundsville, and Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy taught the children about the stormwater system with a miniature table top city containing hills, roads, buildings and more.

It even included an underground stormwater system of pipes to show the children how litter can cause drains to clog up and overflow, and sometimes flood streets and buildings. The litter eventually empties into and pollutes streams, rivers and the ocean, harming water quality and fish and wildlife.

“This is an enviroscape. This is to help the kids understand pollution, where all the pollution goes, how not to pollute,” he said before the presentation. “It helps give them a visualization so they can understand it better.”

Each child was given a packet of sugar-free drink mix to shake onto different areas of the enviroscape. Then they used a sprinkler bottle of water with a cloud-shaped top to rain onto the faux pollution. The powder turned into a colored water, allowing the children to see where it would run in the streets and streams.

Smith used a small piece of paper towel to clog a storm drain. When the students poured on the rain the drain backed up, causing the water to puddle and flood nearby tiny cars and buildings.

He noted it is important for the children to learn about water pollution at this age.

“They’re like sponges. So they can take it back home and spread it to everybody they know,” Smith said.

In addition to educating local students, Smith said his job with the city is to keep the stormwater drains cleared and cleaned out to prevent backups. He must also take care of the permits and state reports related to the stormwater system.

“What most people see is keeping the drains clean and replacing pipes that are broken,” he said.

The children also received packets of information to work on in class.

“Anytime the city can step out into the schools and assist teaching, and be partners in education with any of the schools and show what we do and see on a daily basis is important,” Healy said. “With this age group I think one of the biggest things is litter and clogging the storm drains. Litter is a problem. You see it all over town and everywhere you go.

“If we can get them early to realize that throwing something out the window or dropping it is not only unsightly, but eventually it makes it to that storm drain and clogs it, that’s really important for us,” he added.

Smith noted the enviroscape was made possible with a grant from the Northern Panhandle Resource Conservation and Development Council.