Go Green Initiative’s School of Week Achieves the Unthinkable
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 04.13.08
The Go Green Initiative’s school of the week, the Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley Elementary in Petaluma, California has taken on the task of building quite an environmental education program. And some of the steps they’ve taken seem truly amazing, especially if you’ve taken a peek inside a modern school building and seen how many things get thrown out on a daily basis
Consider how they organize their trash at lunch and in the classroom. With 5 bins to separate the trash effectively, they’re using compostable trays and cups along with the cloth napkins used by some classes instead of the traditional throwaway paper napkins.
And they’ve made it a school policy to use only washable cups and plates for school events as well, ridding themselves of the need for disposables. Folks, it is difficult to imagine a school that’s been able to pull this off. The fashion in which the modern school functions ensures, if nothing else, the certain flow of products that come in the receiving door in one form only to leave as trash not long thereafter.
Switching to cloth towels and washing dishes for school events and parties is quite a feat indeed.
To go along with it, they've taken on the task of growing a school garden large enough to provide lunch 2X per week for the student body, and growing herbs and berries for use in the tea served at school functions.
Impressive indeed.
***Important Reminder: The Deadline for Schools to Register a Confirmed Case in The Great Copy Machine Epidemic of 2008 is this Tuesday, April 15th!***
via: Go Green Initiative
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One of the first grade teachers at my children's public elementary school heads up our Earth Day proceedings. Fewer and fewer people roll their eyes each year when the time comes to recycle and think about their roles in conserving and preserving the environment and making a smaller carbon footprint. She is my hero because she sticks with it. And our school can aspire to this school's standards SOMEDAY!
This is amazing. If a school can pull this off, so can companies, no matter how large.
Using reusable dishes and cups is nothing new for a school, but during events is new. Of course, having all that free child labor in the garden helps as well. ;-)
Separating garbage is not that hard, hey, even children can do it! Way to go guys!!!