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REIDSVILLE, NC (WGHP)— Heavy rains were causing a problem at Rockingham County High School.

The water collected on a walkway and didn’t drain, essentially blocking a typically busy path. “It was just one huge puddle and the water really had nowhere to go,” Rosalina Webster, the agriculture teacher, said.

But not any longer!

Students in agriculture classes at the school saw the problem and worked hard to come up with a solution. They did some research and with the help of a grant built a rain garden.

“I didn’t even know anything about a rain garden. I didn’t know what any of that stuff was. And then we learned about it and learned how they helped like filter everything and all that stuff,” Chesley Turner, a junior, said.

Before they could get started on the physical work, they had to research the right plants to put in the garden.

“We learned about how the water and bushes and like the trees help the water get more like clear and stuff like that and less polluted,” said junior Caroline Mansfield.

“They knew that a lot of them had to be native,” Webster said. “They had to be where you don’t take care of them because that defeats the whole purpose. So, the main purpose is for them to be as native, or just low maintenance so that they can do their own thing, do their job and not really need fertilization. They don’t need watering. So, if we have a three-month drought, it won’t matter. It’s all about sustainability.”

Then the fun began.

“It was definitely hard work, planting, everything, doing mulch, digging up the old dirt excessive stuff,” Tyler Powell, a senior, said.

But they know it is a contribution to their school that will grow for years to come.

“When you grow up and you drive through here, you’ll know that you had a hand in this because they did work very hard,” said Webster. “They were out here in 90 some degree weather, pulling up weeds, digging holes, putting mulch out. So yeah, they definitely had a big hand in it.”

It was a great, end-of-the-school-year project that the students said was fun and they learned from. While they admitted the information may help them in future agriculture classes, they say it’s also good to know for when they become homeowners in the future.