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Success Story: Shadow Lake Elementary School
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Student green team
Green team students help recycle at Shadow Lake
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Students’ poster
Students point to their poster about conserving electricity.
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Educational poster
Colorful poster highlights the benefits of conserving energy.
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School District: Tahoma
School Location: Maple Valley
Began participating in the Green Schools Program: May 2008
Level One of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in December 2009
Level Two of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in May 2011
Waste Reduction and Recycling
- Shadow Lake Elementary increased its recycling rate from 11 percent to 50 percent through a combination of waste reduction and increased recycling.
- School staff initiated a lunchroom recycling program that includes milk cartons, aluminum cans and plastic bottles. After students perfected basic recycling, the school began recycling food scraps.
- At the beginning of each school year, students are trained in proper recycling and composting behavior. Staff are also trained via a staff meeting presentation.
- School staff placed recycling stickers that list what can and can’t be recycled on all recycling containers.
- Students in the school’s Discovery classes empty classroom and office recycling containers and take the materials to the outdoor recycling dumpster.
- Shadow Lake converted its parent newsletter and other parent outreach materials to electronic documents, saving approximately 39,000 pieces of paper each school year.
- Custodian Bill Smith creatively converted garbage containers to recycling containers with a “hanger” above the container that uses real examples of recyclable materials. He also made leftover liquids buckets by painting black and white “cow” spots on old garbage containers. Students empty unwanted leftover liquids into these buckets so that their milk cartons, plastic bottles and other recyclable beverage containers are empty and ready for recycling. The students love the buckets!
- The Shadow Lake Green Team invented a recycling game to help children sort recycling better.
Energy Conservation
- Students placed ‘Please Turn Off Lights’ stickers on all light switches.
- To promote energy conservation, students made regular announcements over the PA system regarding turning off lights in classrooms and other areas.
- Switching parent and school newsletters to electronic versions saves the electricity and greenhouse emissions it would have taken to print the newsletters.
- Staff members regularly check closets and other rooms to make sure the lights are turned off when not in use.
For more information about this school’s conservation achievements and participation in the Green Schools Program, contact:
Gina Castagna, building manager
gcastagn@tahomaSD.US
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