It takes passion to create a Green School – but once it gets going, the excitement is contagious. Students, teachers, parents, custodians, cooks and administrators at Hallinan Elementary have stepped up ideas and efforts on many green projects since the school became an Oregon Green School in 2009 and applied for Merit level in April of 2010. This spring, Hallinan is “going for the gold” by applying for OGS Premier Level. They hope to be able to receive the award on April 20^th.

“Of all the projects I’ve had, this one has received the most attention and people have related to it the most,” said Principal Steve Mauritz, who also is the elementary science coordinator for the LO District. “I motivate and ‘grease the skids,’ and other people take over, and it runs.”

Hallinan students soon will be taking their multi-media show on the road to the OGS Summit, a school board meeting and a Lake Oswego City Council meeting.

Following are just a few of the school’s accomplishments:

• A “No Thank You” bin is available next to the lunchtime garbage so that unopened, non-perishable food can be saved and donated to the food bank.
• A Green Team composed of two teachers, the principal, the building engineer and two parents meets once a month. Parents participate in waste audits and other Green Team initiatives.
• An “Energy Kiosk” has been installed to monitor real-time energy use.
• Each classroom has two raised beds in the Hallinan garden, where vegetables are raised for incorporation into the school lunch program.
• Each classroom has a compost receptacle, the contents of which go into the three bin system for garden use.
• Students developed presentations and skits to teach their school and others

about composting, rain barrels and gardens.

• The school year starts with a Power Point presentation from Mauritz to get teachers up-to-date, making sure that resource conservation and correct recycling are ingrained habits.
• E-mail has replaced printed weekly school newsletters and activity fliers.
• Double-sided copying is utilized whenever possible.
• Cafeteria lunches are served on durable plastic trays.
• A second team of students are scheduled to travel to the OGS Summit to share their program at the OGS Summit in the Live OGS Showcase. They will return to Hallinan after that presentation and present it again later that evening to the LOSD School Board just before Eileen presents the district with the first Oregon Green Schools District award.

Hallinan has reduced its garbage service level to one 3 cu/yd container/week. They divert 47% of their waste through recycling and composting. Volumes have been further reduced through waste prevention techniques.

Elementary and middle school students attended three educational sessions on a wide variety of topics and the Green School Showcase, which featured student presentations from three premier level schools, was extremely popular.  Sessions for high school students included an opportunity to meet with University of Oregon students to learn about how high school students can become more involved within their schools and beyond.  High school students also enjoyed a tour of the Next Step e-waste recycling operation in Eugene where they got to learn about the challenges and opportunities of recycling electronics.  Adults were free to attend any workshop. Two popular sessions, OGSA 101 – Stepping Up Your Program, and the Adult Roundtable, were packed to capacity with teachers, custodians, administrators and others involved with school environmental efforts. Students learned how to make worm bins and do a waste audit, how to use recycled materials to make art and crafts. They took the walk and bike challenge. They learned what students all over the country were doing to alert our elected officials about the effects of climate change.

 The Summit worked hard to put on “waste free” meals, and by providing food in bulk, collecting leftovers and milk/juice containers for composting, bringing waste-free lunches and observing a “Pack it in, Pack it out” policy whereby they took home any garbage they had brought with them, only one small bag of compostable garbage was created during the entire event. The “Edu-tainment” portion of the summit included a “trashion” show where students modeled outfits made from recyclables and used materials.  The Summit finale was an open mic session whereby students of all ages were invited to come to the front stage and briefly share what they are doing at their school.  Approximately 40 students were brave enough to come speak to the entire audience.  It was a wonderful closure to a beautiful day and students left feeling engaged and entergized!

THANK YOU to all of our sponsors who made this day possible and to our Summit volunteers, workshop presenters and OGSA supporting partners (listed on the OGSA webpage).  A special thanks to the generosity of the following schools’ haulers who provided teacher substitute and mileage sponsorships.

Thank you to all our sponsors who made the day possible!

“Saving Little Pieces of our Earth…One at a Time”

 Teams of representatives from Oregon Green Schools across the state were greeted by a beautiful, sunny day  as they arrived at the 14^th annual Oregon Green Schools Summit at Portland Lutheran School inGresham.  TheSummit theme, “Saving Little Pieces of Our Earth…One at a Time,” stressed that one person at a time, doing one thing at a time, making one difference at a time really adds up.  As event organizer Jan Rankin told the crowd of nearly 400 during the opening ceremony, “Taking many little steps can get you a very long way.”

 Students, teachers, custodians, parent volunteers, school administrators, GreenSchool coordinators and special guests spent the fun-filled and educational day participating in school displays, networking, performing arts and hands-on activities. 

 Elementary and middle school students attended four separate educational sessions during which times a wide variety of hands-on workshops were offered.  These workshops focused on topics such as watershed management, energy conservation, recycling, waste reduction, creative reuse, sustainable agriculture, air and water quality, vermicomposting, and schoolyard gardens.  The Green School Showcase, which featured student presentations from Kelly Creek Elementary, Hammond Elementary, Pleasant Valley Elementary, Hollydale Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary and International School of Beaverton, was extremely popular.

 Sessions specifically designed for high school students examined sustainable food systems and considered implications of ecological footprints on a local, national and global level.  Following these, the high school representatives were treated to a field trip toGresham’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and adjacent natural stormwater filtration site as well as a stop atCentennialLearningCenter.  At CLC, they toured the school gardens, and students presented about their on-site food classes and daily preparation of school lunches which often incorporate produce from their garden.

 And let’s not forget the adults!  Adults were free to attend any workshops of their choice, but those designed with the adults in mind (OGS 101 – Stepping Up Your Program, and the Adult Roundtable) were packed to capacity with teachers, custodians, administrators and others involved with their schools’ environmental efforts.

 In the morning, all were treated to a waste-free breakfast.  Food was provided in bulk, leftovers were collected for composting, coffee was served in ceramic cups, and milk cartons and juice bottles were gathered for recycling.   To continue to produce as little waste as possible throughout the day, all school participants brought a waste-free lunch and observed a “Pack it in, Pack it out” policy whereby they took home any garbage that they had brought with them.  As a result of these combined efforts, only one small bag of compostable garbage was created during the entire event!

 TheSummit finale was provided by the Mad Science troop who treated the crowd to an active, engaging performance of “What Do You Know About H2O?”  It was a wonderful closure to a beautiful day.

 THANK YOU to all of our sponsors who made this day possible and to ourSummit volunteers, workshop presenters and OGS supporting partners.

 And a personal shout-out to the student volunteers and staff atPortlandLutheranSchoolwho showed us what hospitality is all about.

9625 SW 125th Avenue

Beaverton, OR 97008

503-259-5400

Through the work of their Student Government, Southridge High School raised awareness about conservation and recycling with such projects as their Caps Off Campaign, Dim Day, and Earth Day activities. The Caps Off Campaign encouraged students to recycle properly by removing caps from water bottles, as well as rewarded students who used reusable water bottles. The Dim Day project became a school tradition, rewarding classes that remembered to turn off half their lights once a week in an effort to conserve energy. After the work of many students past and present, Southridge had the honor of becoming the first Premiere Level Green School in the Beaverton School District. Southridge High School is currently working to help surrounding feeder schools enter the Green School program. Student Leaders there plan to integrate curricular work and projects into their Green School efforts and continue the foundation laid by students who preceded them. Says one student of the effort put into maintaining Southridge’s Green School status: “It’s a legacy. We’re not going to let it fall on our watch.”

Skyline has seen a large change due to our Oregon Green School certification efforts that began in the spring of 2006. In that period of time, efforts from staff, students, and families have led to the development of programs to enhance recycling, waste reduction, energy reduction and water conservation. The most impressive change is the inclusion of sustainability efforts in just about all facets of school; from evening events using sustainable practices, to party packs of dishes for classrooms to help reduce waste even for classroom parties. The following are just a few of the types of changes that Skyline has committed to since our Green School efforts began:

•Reducing the number of bulbs in our hallways and classrooms where possible

•Use of water saving fixtures in bathroom sinks where possible

• Recycling of lunch and classroom food waste to be used for chicken and pig feed

•Reusable trays used in cafeteria

•Reusable silverware used in cafeteria

• Waste reduction efforts reduced to writing in the form of sustainability policy document

• Reduction in waste led to a decrease of 50% of trash containers needed for school

• Ongoing education effort in school newsletter around recycling and sustainability

• Ongoing education effort to help student be empowered to own our sustainability efforts

• Waste audits conducted on regular basis in order to monitor progress and provide feedback to staff and students

In the Spring of 2011, Skyline was the first Portland Public School to install a wind turbine on school grounds. The 90ft, 2.5 kilowatt XZERES 110 turbine was installed by Anderson Electric and funded by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which also partnered with Portland Public Schools for several solar roof projects. An anemometer and electric meter constantly measure wind speed and electricity output for the students to track and analyze in class projects. The students learned about wind power through presentations and activities on the day the turbine was installed.

The efforts listed above only capture some of the hard work that has occurred since Skyline started as an Oregon Green School. As impressive as many of these accomplishments are, Skyline is continually working to enhance and improve their sustainability practices. Skyline staff, students, and parents have taken ownership over their sustainability efforts so that they may continue to grow and improve.

OAK CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Lake Oswego, OR

Oak Creek is proud to be a sustainability leader in the Lake Oswego School District. Since our school was certified as a Green School in 2008, all the schools have joined the certification process, so we are a Green School District! We take pride at Oak Creek for involving all of our students and staff in the 3 R’s of sustainability – Reduce, Reuse and Recycling. We have developed systems that start in the classrooms with students being in charge of their own recycling. Each classroom has a sustainability student position that is in charge of energy reduction by turning off the lights/ computers, water conservation by being sure the faucets are not dripping and recycling the paper and plastic. These same themes are used at our building level Green Team meetings where staff and parents plan for continued training and new green projects.

Since 2008, Oak Creek has reduced its lunch waste by almost 50 percent by changing to reusable trays and utensils, reducing pre-packaged fruits/vegetables, putting condiments at a pump station and having an open salad bar. We also have 5 worm bins that eat our lunch fruit and veggie waste, and students are in charge of getting lunch trays/utensils down to our kitchen for washing. This change was instigated by a group of 5-6 students who won the State Disney Planet Challenge for their actions.

Oak Creek understands that there is always more work to be accomplished in the goal of being sustainable, so we will add new practices to what we have now, while continuing to nuture what we have in place.

Portland, OR 97233

(503) 762-3203

Lynch View Elementary has been a Premier Oregon Green School since 2003!  Lynch View Elementary School’s “earth-friendly” efforts are led by the Triple R’s Environmental Club, a group of dedicated 4th, 5th, and 6th graders that meets every Tuesday after school under the guidance of advisors Gloria Kelsay and Lynne Abts.

In addition to providing weekly collection and sorting of all recyclables, the Triple R’s students plan and present performances to teach others the importance of using resources wisely. Other “green” projects the club has recently undertaken include replacing incandescent lights with compact fluorescents, collecting and sorting discard copies for reuse in the copiers or as scratch paper, and putting together Party Kits containing reusable plates, cups and utensils (instead of disposables) for classroom and staff events. The club also provides an “Eco-hints” column for the parent newsletter, runs a printer and toner cartridge recycling program, presents waste reduction information to the community and attends Oregon Green School summits.

C. The school is centered around a courtyard where native plants abound and feeders welcome feathered (and furry) friends to enjoy the surroundings, which include a waterfall and pond constructed by students, staff and parent volunteers. A picnic table and benches made from 100% recycled plastic provide a leisurely place to sit and enjoy the view or do schoolwork. The Triple Rs (with the help of master gardener Kathy Eisenzimmer, a retired LV teacher) maintain the area, cleaning and filling feeders, pulling weeds, planting, raking and composting in the compost bins and worm bin which are tucked into the corner of the courtyard.

D. The school takes advantage of opportunities to educate the public about waste reduction and incorporates recycling into community events held at the school. A prime example of this is the annual Winter Breakfast. As a result of reducing, reusing and recycling efforts, less than one garbage bag full of trash is produced during the entire event!

Photo caption: The Triple Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Environmental Club of Lynch View Elementary School and their advisors, teachers Gloria Kelsay and Lynne Abts.

KELSO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Boring, OR. Oregon Trail School District

We are proud to say that we were the first school in our district to become a Green School, then a Merit School and finally a Premier Green School!

Kelso Elementary school’s students, staff and volunteers take pride in our recycling efforts. As a building we recycle paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, pop cans, plastic bags, ink jet cartridges and more. Once a week our Recycle Team of 4th and 5th graders gather the recycling throughout our whole school. This maintains our recycling momentum in our program to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The Oregon Green School program has helped us to reduce our waste. In the fall of 2012, we conducted a waste audit. During the audit, we were disappointed to see that we were using Styrofoam trays to serve breakfast. After the audit, we touched base with stakeholders at our school to find out exactly why we were using these disposable trays. We found out that our kitchen staff had been reduced and that they did not have time to round up our reusable trays that we use for lunch after breakfast for washing. We decided that our class leaders could return the trays to the kitchen for washing. We are proud to say that we will soon eliminate the use of disposable trays at our school!

Some of Kelso’s Green School efforts are:

* Containers for plastic bottle recycling are found throughout the school

* We have two blue containers in each classroom for paper and plastic recycling

* We have collection boxes for plastic bags

* We collect compostable food during lunch to add to our worm bin

* We have containers for 1 sided copy paper use

* Kitchen staff uses big containers for condiments instead of small individual wrappers

* We had an energy Audit district-wide to help with energy reduction for our school

On Earth Day Kelso students help decorate Paper Grocery Bags. We then take them back to Fred Meyers. They put them out on Earth Day with the messages from Students on how to help the environment.

Students get to help plant Fall Flowers in our school garden. They also get to watch birds throughout the school year. Many different kinds of birds come to our bird houses and feeders.

Kelso has worked hard to build sustainable practices into our daily schedules. It has become a part of life here at Kelso. The kids can then take these practices home to incorporate them into their own daily lives.