National Grid Foundation Winners!
Congratulations to the winners of this year's Increase Your Green Competition. The schools below have been identified as outstanding leaders in environmental sustainability in the northeastern territory covered by the National Grid Foundation, the competition's sponsors. Winners were selected by Do Something and a panel of expert judges. They will be awarded with $1500 and $500 grants to fund their environmental efforts at school. Read on and be inspired!.jpg)
Don't worry, southwesterners, we selected 4 additional winners outside of the northeast. Read about those green schools!
Scituate High School, RI
National Grid Foundation Grand Prize Winner: $1500
Scituate High School involved 1600 students in projects including "Energy Night" which featured film screenings and energy workshops for the 8 Rhode Island High Schools, representatives from the State Energy Office, educators and volunteers in attendance. The project will be featured in a physical science text book by CPO Science. Scituate students created an energy exhibit for the University of Rhode Island Energy Expo, attended by over 4000 people. They launched and maintained a green blog which was visited over 800 times in 8 weeks! Student leaders also researched and built a biodiesel production tank, videotaped the process, and displayed the functioning tank and video at a science fair attended by hundreds of students, parents, and local scientists. They've collected barrels from local food industry and sold them as rain barrels to community members which prevents energy wasted by pumping water for yard care. Through their distribution of CFLs, they have saved 165 MWh of energy. Students distributed reusable water bottles with 500-use filters, preventing the future use of 4500 plastic bottles. Student leaders now police cafeteria recycling and have launched new recycling programs for community events.
MS 447, NY
National Grid Foundation Second Tier Winner: $500
MS 447 students started their IYG efforts without a recycling program. They conducted a trash survey to calculate the amount of recyclables. They launched paper, plastic, and aluminum recycling programs and now students properly dispose of 90% of recyclable items. To extend their impact outside of school walls, students organized to attend a school recycling rally at City Hall where one student delivered a speech that he wrote about the lack of recycling and energy efficient policies in NYC schools. Less than 10% of NYC schools currently recycle. Thanks to their IYG efforts, MS447 is now part of that change making minority. They are now part of a Green Schools Committee in New York to push for environmental sustainability policies within the Department of Education. They've held school-wide movie screenings and workshops on composting, water conservation, and recycling. Students proudly wear "Be Cool. Recycle at School" t-shirts.
Berkshire School, MA
National Grid Foundation Second Tier Winner: $500
Berkshire students, teachers, and community members have joined Berkshire's holistic Green movement. Every other week, students collect vegetable oil waste and convert it to biodiesel which is then used by the school's diesel powered vehicles. In collaboration with dining services, students discovered that roughly 350 lbs of waste can be composted each week and now work full time to ensure all food scraps are being placed in compost bins. The scraps are then mixed with leaves, sawdust and other organic materials to create rich soil The soil is then exchanged for fresh produce with a local farmer. They've promoted recycling and CFL use across the school and community. Students are working together to rewrite Berkshire's Climate Action Plan including a cost analysis of how to go carbon neutral in five years!
Boston Latin School, MA
National Grid Foundation Second Tier Winner: $500
Last year's IYG winners were at it again with brand new projects and eco-endeavors. They kicked off with an event at Boston Nature Center where students built a 100' long fish net to help collect toxic trash from the center's wetlands. They're moving forward with the Massachusetts Climate Literacy Campaign, an initiative aimed at requiring the state to teach about climate change. They're saving energy by installing motion sensor lighting in the library and re-wiring cafeteria lights so that not all bulbs are in use at a given time. This reduction will save over $16,000 a year in energy costs! Students had a booth at the Boston Children's Museum Energy Fair and taught younger kids about the importance of energy conservation. Students drafted a recycling pledge to promote faculty participation in new cafeteria recycling tray program. Now they're hard at work planning their 3rd Annual Global Climate Change Summit to take place at MIT on May 9th 2009!