June is here, and that means that summer is rapidly approaching! With a few weeks left in the school year, many schools have already begun to submit their certification information to Washington Green Schools. It's not too late to submit your certification paperwork. Follow along with Washington Green Schools to see how to certify. The following list of schools is by no means a complete list, and you still have time to certify! June 30th is the last day to submit certification reports to be considered for the 2018-19 school year. Becky Bronstein from Washington Green Schools is ready to help if you have any additional questions for certification.

Schools who have certified so far this year:

River Homelink

Healthy Schools: Researched and implemented an anti-idling campaign to reduce automotive pollution at campus. Identified roadblocks from the campaign and hope to utilize those changes in the future to reduce pollution and spread awareness.

School Grounds and Gardens: Developed an outdoor learning space with a vegetable and native species garden spaces. Measured the increased biodiversity in selected areas in the learning space, using the space as an outdoor science lab. 

Columbia Valley Elementary

School Grounds and Gardens: Collaborated with district and local groups to install and utilize a school garden. They built six raised beds for all grade levels and plan on developing more curriculum and programming in the future. 

Felida Elementary

Completed a Healthy School Building Certification to fulfill the requirements for a Platinum Certification (Certification in all 6 areas!). Developed and delivered a outreach campaign to teach school about the importance of good hygiene and healthy eating. 

Schools who have re-certified:

Thomas Jefferson Middle School 

Energy: Continued to educate school on the solar panels on the building. Some workshops have  been arranged to learn  bout solar cooking!

School Grounds and Gardens: Community garden and tree plantings.

Transportation: Bike to school events in an effort to reduce idling pollution.

Waste And Recycling: Continuous improvement with waste sort and compost collection. PTSA and staff now have reusable flatware and compostable plates for staff meetings/meals

Water: Various projects ranging from watershed quality monitoring,  Water resource education soil and water monitoring, faucet and flusher replacements to reduce excess water waste.

Sarah J Anderson Elementary

Energy: Continues to implement and develop outreach communication to reduce wasted energy through behavior change: turning off lights, monitors, and computers when done with them.

Mill Plain Elementary 

Sustaining Gold Certification in Healthy School Buildings, School Grounds and Gardens, Waste and Recycling, and Water

​Congratulations to all these schools that have worked hard for their certifications! If you are having trouble with your certification, please let us know! We are here to help!