School District: Highline
School Location: Burien
Began participating in the Green Schools Program: December 2008

Level One of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in June 2009
Level Two of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in June 2010

Waste reduction and recycling: 2008-2009

• The school increased its recycling rate from 23 percent to 38 percent.
• Efforts included educating students about recycling, reducing lunchtime garbage volume and launching breakfast milk carton recycling.
• The Gregory Heights Student Leadership Team gave classroom presentations on recycling, launched classroom waste audits, made posters and purchased a worm bin to begin composting food scraps
• Recycling containers provided by the Green Schools Program were added to the lunchroom for milk cartons, juice boxes, plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
• School staff placed recycling stickers on classroom and lunchroom recycling containers. Provided by the Green Schools Program, the stickers list what can and can’t be recycled.
• The school promoted and initiated a “waste free lunch” day in which students and staff were encouraged to reduce their lunchtime garbage. Students and staff noticed that garbage bins were much less full on the “waste free lunch” day.
• Students participated in a “zero waste” cubby clean out at the end of the year. Unwanted materials that would have been disposed in past years were reused or recycled.
• The school instituted “reuse it” boxes for paper. Eighty percent of the school’s teachers use these boxes in their classrooms.

Waste reduction and recycling: 2009-2010

• The Gregory Heights Student Leadership Team (SLT) continued to educate the student body about waste reduction and recycling through presentations and weekly classroom waste audits.
• The SLT was responsible for emptying recyclable materials in specialist, kindergarten and pre-school classrooms.
• In addition to recycling milk cartons at breakfast, the school began to recycle milk cartons at lunchtime. Students monitored milk carton recycling throughout the year to reduce contamination.
• Paper reuse bins were made for every classroom. The school conducted a campaign to promote the reuse bins and double-sided copying.

Energy conservation

• The Student Leadership Team (SLT) formed an energy conservation patrol which provided individual reminders to turn off lights and electronic equipment and to use daylight instead of electric lights whenever possible. The office administrator sent periodic e-mail reminders to teachers about energy conservation.
• Student-made signs were posted on all light switches to encourage staff and students to turn off lights in unoccupied spaces. Posters were made to encourage turning off computer monitors and other electronic equipment when not in use.
• The SLT checked all light switch timers to ensure they were working properly and proposed shortening the length of time that each switch is programmed to be on.
• With support from the Highline School District, Gregory Heights tracked its energy use, replaced incandescent lights with fluorescent “Energy Star” bulbs, and restricted the use of personal heaters, refrigerators and other appliances in offices and classrooms.

Environmental education

• Environmental topics are integrated into curriculum school-wide. Teachers at all grade levels incorporate discussion of environmental-related current events into their curriculum, and also discuss the school double-sided paper policy and the classroom reuse bins.
• Gregory Heights hosted an assembly for third through sixth grades about energy conservation and carbon footprints, provided by Seattle City Light. Three fifth grade classrooms followed up with guest presentation workshops. Students discussed ways to shrink their carbon footprints and shared information with their families.
• The Student Leadership Team (SLT) continues to meet twice monthly and completes various assignments, including monitoring energy and recycling in every classroom, collecting classroom recyclable materials, maintaining the worm bin, monitoring milk carton recycling at lunchtime, and planning another end-of-year school-wide “Zero Waste” cubby clean out.
• The SLT has continued to compost food scraps in their worm bin and, using worms from their bin, taught two other classes how to build and care for a worm bin.
• The SLT drafted announcements related to conservation facts and tips for the school’s monthly newsletter.
• The sixth grade classes attended Camp Waskowitz, a Highline School District camp focused on environmental learning and conservation. After the camp, the sixth grade students shared information about water and energy conservation with other classrooms.

Award

• Gregory Heights received a King County Earth Hero at School award in April 2008. The school received this award for the collaborative effort among students, parents, the PTSA, teachers, office, support staff and principal that resulted in a comprehensive recycling program with widespread participation. Students decorated bulletin boards with recycling information, the PTSA purchased recycling containers, student leaders and lunch assistants guided students on proper recycling and a recycling ethic now pervades the entire school.

For more information about this school’s participation in the Green Schools Program, contact:

Joan Johnson, teacher
johnstj@HSD401.org

Frank Eshpeter, Highline Public Schools facilities services supervisor
eshpetf@HSD401.org