Green Teams in schools throughout Clark County did some amazing work this school year. We are so proud of all their efforts to make their schools, and the greater community, more "green." Students, staff and volunteers showed immense commitment to sustainability in schools and being leaders in the community, showing what it can look like when we care for the earth and teach our children to take action.
It's a great understatement to say that this school year didn't go as anyone had planned and that the COVID-19 pandemic halted a lot of great work being done throughout the community. There was still a tremendous amount of learning and action done by local school Green Teams this year that we want to celebrate. We wanted to take a moment to highlight that great work and to make note of what we're thankful for as the school year wraps up. This is by no means an exhaustive list of amazing sustainability efforts of schools around Clark County; for more highlights, check out our Facebook page (note: you don't need a Facebook account to see the photos, videos and more that we post on our Facebook. As we all head into fall not knowing what the future holds, know that we are working to find ways to we can support you and your work in these uncertain times.
Click on the links (text in blue) to read more about these projects.
September
Hockinson Heights Elementary launches their milk dispenser, which could reduce milk wasted at their school by over 1,200 gallons annually.
Clark County Green Schools works with partners to host the annual Columbia River Watershed Festival at Lewisville Regional Park in Battle Ground. Members of our team lead students through interactive lessons about composting, recycling and waste reduction during this two-day event with over 800 fourth grade students and chaperones in attendance.
October
La Center School District partners with local farms for Taste Washington Day, celebrating the environmental, social and nutritional benefits of choosing local agriculture.
Washington Green Schools and Clark County Green Schools launch a new model for local trainings and the annual Student Summit, with a teacher training on October 8.
November
Washington State School for the Blind and Pleasant Valley Primary conduct waste audits to kickoff efforts to improve waste reduction and recycling at their schools.
December
The Gardner school launches their Green Team, where every student in the entire school is a member.
We help very motivated students and staff at Vancouver iTech Preparatory supply their new campus with recycling containers and waste reduction tools.
January
We host the second of the year's teacher trainings with Washington Green Schools.
February
Green Apple award nominees are announced, highlighting the outstanding and inspirational work being done by local school staff to empower students to take environmental action at their schools.
March
For the first time, high school students get their own Student Summit. The event brings together students from Oregon and Clark County at the national Green Schools Conference & Expo in Portland.
Elementary and middle school students come together at Clark College for the annual Clark County Student Summit. New this year, students present posters about the projects their Green Teams have done to increase sustainability at their school.
The milk dispenser at York Elementary is celebrated by the Washington Dairy Council and the Seattle Seahawks for its part in reducing the school's environmental and waste footprint and promoting more nutritional beverage options.
April
Behind the scenes and working from home, local garden coordinators work together to understand how the pandemic affects school gardens. We begin collecting data about all school gardens in Clark County. The data will be part of a new interactive teaching and support tool we'll launch this fall.
May
Pleasant Valley Primary and Gause Elementary complete new certifications with Washington Green Schools.
June
We're happy to celebrate the class of 2020! We're working behind the scenes to help students and staff form and sustain Green Teams, connect environmental and sustainability topics to online learning activities, and find best practices for waste reduction during these uncertain times. We're excited to roll out some new resources and interactive tools in the fall.