CHAPEL HILL - Third-grade summer school students at Estes Hills Elementary School are making a difference around their school.

After learning about conserving water and hearing a presentation from Orange County's stormwater management department about keeping water clean, students looked around the school to see how they could help. They noticed trash on the ground, erosion around the campus and unmarked storm drains.

They wrote letters to the administration with ideas about how to solve some of the problems. Principal Cheryl Carnahan encouraged them to pick a project and begin. The students decided to mark all of the storm drains "Drain no waste" to prevent garbage and toxic chemicals from being dumped into the drains, which lead to streams and lakes.

Orange County Storm Water Management heard about the students' project and volunteered to help.

On Thursday, the students and county staff glued placards to each of the school's 13 storm drains to remind everyone to keep waste out of the drains.

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