Year in Review - Clark County Green Schools - Clark County Green Schools

Clark County Green Schools team is celebrating another successful year educating Clark County students, school staff and volunteers about sustainability!

Over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, educators from Clark County Green Schools, EarthGen, Clark County Composter Recyclers, Waste Connections and the City of Vancouver partnered to teach students and school staff lessons on recycling, compost, solid waste reduction and sustainable lifestyles. Together we completed over 70 lessons and educated over 4,500 students!

Learn more about lesson offerings from our team!

Clark County Green Schools educator, Camille Shelton, teaches a group of students about decomposers and food waste reduction.

Clark County Green Schools educator, Sare Campbell, teaches a group of students about decomposers and food waste reduction.

Clark County Green Schools education materials.

Cafeteria waste reduction

Clark County Green Schools and Waste Connections worked with five schools across Clark County to launch composting programs and introduce waste sorting tables to the cafeteria. With the addition of these new sorting systems, over 50 schools in Clark County are currently composting food waste – successfully diverting over 900,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill each year!

Learn more about La Center School District's composting launch.

Learn more about Hockinson Middle School's composting launch.

Another way to reduce food waste is to set up a share table. A share table is an established location where students can place unwanted food items to be offered to other students who may want additional food. Incorporating a share table into your food service reduces wasted food while also increasing access to free healthy foods for students. During the 2022-2023 school year, over 90% of schools across Vancouver Public School District have launched share tables in their cafeterias!

Learn more about waste sorting and share tables.

Cafeteria waste sort table helps students learn to properly sort waste including recycling and composting.

Student created signs help teach their classmates how to properly manage cafeteria waste.

Share tables offered at the front of the waste sorting line encourage students to place uneaten food in the designated area for other students who may want to take a snack for later.

Worm bins

Over the course of the school year, 10 classrooms across Clark County adopted worm bins from the Clark County Composter Recycler program. These worm bins are utilized to educate students about soil science, compost and food waste reduction throughout the school year.

As a result of these 10 classroom worm bins, over 950 pounds of food waste has been diverted from the landfill. These functional worm bins produced over 100 pounds of nutrient rich vermicastings, a nutrient rich fertilizer and soil amendment that is used to boost school garden soil health!

Students sort through their classroom worm bin to harvest fertilizer for their school garden.

Students harvest fertilizer from a worm bin.

Garden tours

Clark County Green Schools and WSU Master Gardeners hosted five school garden tours. These school garden tours highlighted accomplishments across Clark County by featuring successful gardens and outdoor classroom spaces at Glenwood Elementary, Laurin Middle School, River HomeLink, Illahee Elementary and Hazel Dell Elementary.

Unusable and broken items are turned into garden trellis at the River HomeLink school garden.

River HomeLink teacher, Kris Potter, showcases the school’s functional vermicomposting bench during a school garden tour.

Battle Ground School Board Member and retired science teacher, Mark Watrin, leads a school garden tour at Glenwood Elementary and Laurin Middle School.

Waste audits

Our team completed nine waste audits at local schools. These up close and personal studies help our team learn more about waste and how and where we can reduce waste.

Learn more about waste audits and how the data they generate helps our team learn about school waste in Clark County.

The Clark County Green Schools team sorts through cafeteria waste in partnership with students and school staff to gather waste data.

Teacher trainings and student summit events

The Clark County Green Schools team partnered with educators from EarthGen to host two student summit events and two educator training events. Over 30 local educators and 150 Clark County students attended training events to learn more about sustainability, network with peers and connect with local resource organizations working to support environmental activism in schools.

Field trips

Educators from Clark County Green Schools hosted three field trips at Heritage Farm in partnership with the Clark County Food Bank. These field trips promoted sustainable agriculture. For each field trip, our team hosted an educational activity about food waste reduction at the Heritage Farm Compost Demonstration Site which is maintained by the Clark County Compost Recyclers.

Our partners at Waste Connections hosted six field educational trips to the West Vancouver Transfer Station during this school year. These field trips provide students an up close and personal look at our waste system.

Learn more about field trip opportunities!

Field trip group completes a tour of the West Vancouver Materials Recovery Facility and Transfer Station in downtown Vancouver.

Waste Connections educators lead local students through a field trip to the West Vancouver Transfer Station.

Students are lead through educational activities at the compost demonstration site at Heritage Farm during a field trip.

Clark County Green Awards

The annual Green Awards highlight the accomplishments of local K-12 schools and celebrate their commitment to reducing harmful environmental impacts, educating others and giving back to the community. This year's awards recognize a local educator and three student green teams for their commitment to creating a healthy and sustainable culture on school campuses. Winners will receive unique trophies crafted by students at Washougal High School and made entirely from recycled materials.

We are proud to present the 2023 Clark County Green Awards:

-Mark Watrin Battle Ground Public Schools, Green Apple of the Year

-Illahee Elementary School, Green Team of the Year (Elementary)

-Washington State School for the Blind, Green Team of the Year (mixed grades)

-La Center High School, Green Team of the Year (High School)

Learn more about the winners and the special 2023 award trophies.

La Center High School Environmental Action Team is presented with the 2023 Green Team of the Year Award .

Clark County Green News

Year in Review - Clark County Green Schools