As COVID-19 closed schools down, many Green Teams were just getting their environmental projects off the ground. Lots of schools all over the county had plans to certify as a Washington Green School and for some, those plans were put on hold. The supportive team at Washington Green Schools organized a few Zoom report card work sessions to assist teachers in completion of paperwork to certify.
Pleasant Valley Primary's Earth Helpers, an inspiring group of second graders, had been working since the fall to combat contamination in their food waste carts. They don't have a cafeteria at Pleasant Valley and have several waste stations outside. The Earth Helpers used cameras from Washington Green Schools to document the contamination issues. They put up posters showing the contamination to educate the other students. They created Robot Arm to make sure waste and other materials were getting into the correct bin. Students also gave up parts of their recess to educate others.
This year we had a great group of enthusiastic second graders! They took on the project of educating fellow students to help positively improve our school lunch trash sorting stations. It was really rewarding for us as educators to see the stirrings of a grassroots movement in our very own PVP community. The Washington Green Schools and Clark County Green Schools program support really propelled our students' enthusiasm and knowledge. Without them it would have been impossible to achieve certification. Today's students are tomorrow's leaders so we are excited for our environmentally conscious future!
Julie Horrocks, PVP second grade teacher and Earth Helpers co-leader
The Pleasant Valley Primary Earth Helpers earned their bronze certification with Washington Green Schools for their efforts. We will enjoy celebrating that success next year and present them with their award.
If you were working towards certification and got delayed with the school closing, contact Shannon at Washington Green Schools for help with paperwork. You may be closer than you think to becoming certified as well. To learn more about certification, check out Washington Green Schools information here.