Grace Hill Elementary students go green
Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007
BY LYNN ATKINS
Staff Writer Although it looks like any other school, Grace Hill Elementary may be the greenest school in the state. It was the
As a green school, Grace Hill has taken on the responsibility of educating parents, as well as children and some teachers, in ways to become more environmentally aware. Finley and his small class of special education students are leading the way.
First, there are the recycling efforts. At Grace Hill it’s possible to recycle more than just aluminum cans and some of the recycling pays off in funds for the school.
Finley’s class collects 20 ounce plastic bottles and prepares them to be reused by a company that manufacturers organic plant food. The company, TerraCycle, pays for the bottles, and thousands of schools around the country participate in the program.
TerraCycle only uses 20 ounce bottles, but Finley doesn’t mind sorting out other plastic bottles and taking them to the local recycling center. While his class is rinsing and sorting, they collect the labels from Nestle’s water bottles which can be traded in for outdoor P. E. equipment, Finley said.
They also collect paper to send to a company called Full Shred which recycles it. Finley’s students, sometimes with helpers from other classrooms, empty the paper recycling bins in all the classrooms. Emptying the bins is a privilege Grace Hill students must earn, Finley said.
Another class at Grace Hill recycles aluminum cans and Finley is working on a plan to recycle some food scraps from the lunch room in his new outdoor composter.
He has a small composting system, complete with worms, set up in his classroom. The worms eat some of the scraps leftover from snacks his students bring to class. Worms can eat all kinds of food, except meat, he said, and the composter only smells like coffee when Finley picks up a bag of grounds from Starbucks. There’s never an offensive odor, he promised, and the by-product of the worms and the scraps is very good for any garden.
His students helped Finley to post notes near light switches all over the school reminding the staff to turn off lights when they’re not necessary. This is the first year he’s seen the teacher’s lounge dark, he said.
He used recycled items to make a giant graph on the wall near the cafeteria that will track energy use so students and teachers will be able to see how they’re making a difference.
The money the class earns by recycling will be reinvested in green programs. Finley already has many books about recycling available for his students, but he wants to buy a giant soda bottle
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