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Success story: Skyview Junior High
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Dumpster divers!
Skyview Junior High school students check fullness of recycling container to calculate recycling rate. |
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Outdoor learning center
Students restore native habitat in Skyview’s Outdoor Learning Center by removing invasive plants and planting native plants. |
School District: Northshore
Location: Bothell
Began to participate in the Green Schools Program: 2007
Level One of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in May 2009
Level Two of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in June 2010
General
- Skyview has served as a model for conservation practices for other schools in the Northshore School District.
- During 2009-10, the Skyview team worked with its district to create a No Idle zone in the student drop-off area and convert all of its liquid soap dispensers to foam soap dispensers (PDF, 80 K).
Waste Reduction and Recycling
- As the old business school maxim says, you can only manage what you measure. When Skyview began to participate in the Green Schools Program, it was difficult to determine the school’s overall recycling rate. In the Northshore School District, district staff rather than contracted haulers collect garbage and recyclable materials from each school. Although there are advantages to this operational choice, the way the system is currently managed, there is no way to measure through district records the quantities of garbage and recyclable materials generated by each school.
- The best estimate at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year was that the school was recycling approximately 10 percent of its waste stream. Thanks to the diligent efforts of students who tracked garbage and recycling volumes, the school – as of June 2010 – has measured a recycling rate of forty percent. To get there, the school completed the following:
- Placed recycling bins in every classroom, office, break room and next to garbage cans in common areas.
- Began to recycle in the lunchroom and kitchen areas.
- Placed recycling signs next to all recycling containers.
- Engaged students in tracking the school’s garbage and recycling volumes.
- Introduced waste reduction practices, including the use of durables in the staff room and bulk condiment dispensers in the cafeteria.
- Maintained or expanded a few waste reduction practices, including durable lunch trays, reduced size and two sided printing and copying, and using single-sided paper for scrap.
- Used Eagle Eye skits, assembly activities, bulletins and staff meeting announcements to communicate conservation and waste reduction messages.
Environmental Education
- Skyview expanded its Outdoor Environmental Learning Center which provides students with hands-on experience in trail maintenance and restoring native habitat, including designing and digging wetlands, removing invasive plants and planting native plants.
- In 2008-09 and 2009-10, Skyview students and parents performed over 900 hours of community service, including native planting and caring for the school’s Outdoor Learning Center. Skyview parents and the Eastside Garden Club donated over $1,600 for this project.
- Skyview teachers developed “grounding” curriculum activities to engage seventh grade students in learning about the respective paths taken by garbage, recyclable materials, yard waste, drinking/surface water and wastewater, natural gas and electricity in their homes.
- In 2007-08, teachers also created a comprehensive Sustainability Survey for seventh grade students and their families for recording and reporting ways they can reduce their ecological footprints.
- In 2009-10, seventh graders held family meetings that included EPA’s carbon and water footprint surveys as well as a comprehensive Earth Day Family Sustainability Action plan.
- Seventh grade students created a “Present to the Environment” campaign to encourage giving gifts of experience during the holidays.
Environmental Purchasing
- Green Schools team members worked with office staff to purchase recycled-content paper, refillable white board markers, and recyclable/exchange toner cartridges whenever cost-competitive.
- The school received credit from the district for its increasing recycling rate. This credit is being used to help purchase recycled paper stock and for expanded activities at the Outdoor Learning Center.
Energy Conservation
- In 2008, Skyview identified a point person for energy conservation activities and located baseline data for gas and electrical use.
- Energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs were installed throughout the school.
- In 2009-10, Skyview staff, Northshore Capital Projects and the district’s consultant McKinstry worked together to submit a grant proposal for a school solar array from Snohomish PUD’s Planet Power Program.
Hazardous Waste Management and Reduction
- John Schmied, the school’s chemical hygiene officer and also the lead on the Green Schools team, assisted district staff to eliminate or minimize hazards from cleaning supplies, science lab chemicals, art and tech supplies, and other toxins. This included a clean-out of art/technology/science waste in all 10 of the district’s secondary schools.
- Skyview participated in the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County pilot Business Hazardous Waste Disposal Program during 2008-09. John also acted as coordinator for all district secondary schools.
- Indoor air quality resources were located and initial goals and objectives developed.
Comments
“Recycling is part of the Skyview Junior High culture. Our students and teachers are instinctually recycling and we believe that this practice will carry over to recycling at home. I am proud of the grassroots efforts made by teachers, custodians and students.” – Mike Anderson, principal, Skyview Junior High
For more information about this school's participation in the Green Schools Program, contact:
Mike Anderson, principal
manderson@nsd.org
John Schmied, teacher
jschmied@nsd.org
Tom Nowak, teacher
tnowak@nsd.org
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