Here’s the latest Green Team news from elementary schools!

Under the leadership of Patti Foryan, the Cascade Ridge Elementary Green Team switched to reusable utensils in the lunchroom. The team surveyed other schools to learn about successes and challenges. They worked with the kitchen staff to order utensils and develop a process for making and promoting the change. The team announced the change in newsletters, during lunch periods and in reminder slips home to families. These efforts result in less plastic going to the landfill.

Fifth grade teacher Mindy Mohney and the Endeavor Elementary Green Team completed a school-wide “Waste Watchers” project during the fall of 2017. After learning what happens when an item goes to the landfill or is composted or recycled, students created a video to teach other students at the school what they had learned and how they could help. They showed the video to 26 classrooms, explained lunchtime expectations, and answered questions. The team monitors the process at lunch and helps students and adults at the school sort waste properly.

Always expanding their WRR efforts, Laura Hoover-Sanders and the fifth grade Westwood Elementary Green Team took on a new project this fall. The team recorded all food items being thrown in the compost or garbage containers. After accumulating a month’s worth of data, they shared it with the Head of Nutrition Services. The team hopes their efforts will encourage leaders to reduce food waste by removing frequently uneaten items from the menu. The team also continued teaching the school community proper sorting of lunch-time waste, promotion of the use of durable materials, and monitoring all recycle bins in the school

White Center Heights Elementary School first-grade students participated in an Environmental Leadership workshop to understand where all of the items we use every day come from. The students learned about the life cycles of paper, metal, and plastics through an interactive storytelling game. During January, in collaboration with Art+Tech+Trash and with the art piece “ReUsetopus” as inspiration, teachers Shoshanna Cohen, Tu Dinh, Lisa Mora, and Amy Melton helped the students create four art pieces using disposable plastics and LED technology. They will use the art pieces to teach their school and community how to waste less and recycle more plastic items.