Ellen Ives honored with statewide Washington Green Schools Green Medalist award

At Washington Green Schools annual fundraising dinner April 26th at Sodo Park in Seattle, Ellen Ives, Waste Connections educator and Clark County Green Schools team member, was honored as one of three Green Medalist award winners. Awards were given to a business partner, an individual and a school. Ellen was the honoree in the individual category.  The other two recognized were Abbott Construction and Maple Elementary. 

Ellen is a former elementary school teacher who now combines her teaching expertise with personal environmental passion to serve as an educator with Waste Connections and is a part of the Clark County Green Schools team. The result is exuberant environmental teaching and she's a catalyst for change.

Washington Green Schools is honored to present Ellen Ives with the Green Medalist Award for Outstanding Community Leader. Ellen has played an exceptional role in educating students about waste reduction and environmental stewardship in Clark County. She is a remarkable partner in teaching, motivating, and inspiring a generation of young environmental leaders. 

Laura Collins
Washington Green Schools

Ellen is a dynamic force on the Clark County Green Schools team. Her passion for environmental change is contagious. She is enthusiastic in the push for less plastic and disposable serviceware in school lunches. She has been vocal in her support of a pilot project to bring milk dispensers into some Clark County Schools to reduce milk and carton waste, which will be happening at the start of the coming school year. Ellen sees a problem and goes to work to solve it. She is a team player who thrives on working with others for the greater good. 

Ellen is incredibly dedicated to making a positive difference in her community and it is evident in her daily work. Her attention to detail and thoughtful conversations are evidence of her teaching experience which combined with her passion has made magic in Clark County.

 Mick Hoffman
Chief Operations Officer
Vancouver Public Schools

Ellen is such a great resource for Evergreen Public Schools. She is very passionate about her work and about making a positive change with kids and with the environment.
We are so fortunate to have Ellen as part of our team!

Sue Steinbrenner
Director of Facilities
Evergreen Public Schools

I can't say enough great things about the work Ellen does in our community and schools. She has helped the students at Mill Plain in numerous ways. She has taught us about recycling, reducing waste, and most importantly, our ability to make lasting change. Two years ago after conducting a waste audit with our students, she encouraged our Green Team to write a letter to our food service to ask that they provide our school with silverware instead of plastic utensils. We received the silverware and were the first elementary school in our district to make this change. Since then, many other schools have reached out to ours wanting to make the same change. Ellen has provided ongoing support with our endeavor, even going through compost to find us more silverware when we have needed to replace ours. I'm so happy to see Ellen deserve recognition for her hard work and dedication. 

Melissa Zarzana
Mill Plain Elementary teacher

Here is what Ellen shared with the group after receiving her Green Medalist award:

"Children. Children have an innate love of a nature. As Maria Montessori wrote, "Follow the child, but follow the child as his(her) leader". Children know our earth is not healthy. It is their environment, their connection to nature. Listen to them: they voice concerns about litter in their parks, danger to the animals they love, plastic in the ocean. Follow the child. Children want to take action, do something about this problem –not just talk or draw pictures about it—but take action to bring about change. They have that power and they have great ideas for how to do it. Follow the child. Through Green Teams, school clubs, and modeling change with their families and friends they can turn the tide.