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King County Green Schools program success story: Sammamish High School

Success story: Sammamish High School

School District: Bellevue
School Location: Bellevue

Level One of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in June 2009
Level Two of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in May 2010
Level Three of the Green Schools Program: Achieved in April 2011

Waste reduction and recycling

  • Sammamish High School increased its recycling rate from 15 percent to 47 percent.
  • The City of Bellevue partnered with the Green Schools Program to assist Bellevue schools with recycling improvements.
  • Recycling containers are in all classrooms, offices and in the cafeteria, and all recycling containers have signs that list what can and can’t be recycled.
Sammamish High School
Colorful graphics for the Environmental Warriors club at Sammamish High School.
  • The school implemented a new classroom recycling system which included the following:
    • Large rolling recycling bins, provided by the City of Bellevue and Allied Waste, were placed in hallways.
    • Each bin has beem adopted by a group of students who take responsibility for emptying it into the outdoor recycling container on recycling day.
  • A video announcement illustrating proper recycling techniques was shown school-wide to reduce contamination in recycling containers.
  • The Green Team, along with the environmental club, Environmental Warriors, put on a “Green Week” to kick off the new cafeteria recycling system. This involved:
    • Placement of recycling bins in the cafeteria.
    • Student volunteers monitored each bin in the cafeteria each day for a week during lunch in order to educate students about what materials they could and could not recycle.
    • When students recycled their waste properly, student volunteers handed out pencils made from recycled newspaper from the City of Bellevue.
    • T-shirts were made and sold for “Green Week.”
    • The Audubon Society, City of Bellevue and Mercer Slough Educational Center set up booths during lunches outside the cafeteria to get students excited about Green Week.
    • A classroom recycling trivia competition was held.
  • Two worm bins were started in classrooms to collect food scraps.
  • To reduce paper use, all classrooms use smart boards and e-mail communication is used school-wide as much as possible.
  • During 2010-11, students held a Green Day to promote recycling and waste reduction.

Environmental education

  • Students calculated their carbon footprint to measure their potential impact on the Earth.
  • Environmental Warriors produced a video about the school’s recycling policy that was shown to the school during video announcements.
  • The Environmental Warriors held two smoothie fund raising events, one on Earth Day and another during Advanced Placement testing week. Club members handled the preparation, smoothie making and cleanup.
  • An edible garden was designed and planted in the school commons.
  • On Earth Day the Environmental Warriors held an informational fair to promote locally produced foods, growing your own food, energy conservation and recycling.
  • The Environmental Warriors invited all Bellevue School District high school environmental clubs to a summit meeting to discuss the following:
    • What each group accomplished this year;
    • What each group is planning for next year;
    • How the groups could pool their resources for next year; and
    • Where and how the groups could collaborate next year.
  • One of the primary goals for the Environmental Warriors was to coordinate and promote every school’s “Green Week” activities so that the district might see a significant drop in garbage volume and costs.

Energy conservation

  • The Environmental Warriors posted “lights off” stickers on all light switches.
  • At a staff meeting, Club members shared suggestions with staff about how to reduce classroom energy use. The students informed staff that they would be conducting classroom energy audits.
  • Environmental Warrior members conducted classroom energy audits after school. During the audits they looked for electrical equipment, including printers and lights, which had not been turned off. Students taped a “grade sheet” to the outside of the door with comments. After the audit, many teachers commented that they would like to receive a better grade next time.
  • During the energy audits, Environmental Warrior members talked with many staff members individually and suggested ways they could reduce classroom energy use.

Water conservation

  • To raise awareness about conserving water at school and at home, morning announcements were submitted every Monday to the front office and read to the school in conjunction with an announcement about the Environmental Warriors club.
  • Students organized a pledge campaign in which students and staff were asked to sign pledges about conserving and protecting water at school and home.
  • YMCA Earth Service Corps worked closely with the Environmental Warriors club to organize speakers and to participate in restoration projects in King County.
  • The Advanced Placement Environmental Science class studied water conservation and water quality issues as part of its curriculum. The school’s green team – comprised of staff and students, including some students from the Environmental Warriors club – used the water conservation resource tub from the City of Bellevue.
  • Students placed “turn water off” stickers by sinks throughout the school.
  • Students put up posters throughout the school to promote water conservation.

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

Sammamish High School
425-456-7600
King County Solid Waste Division mission: Waste Prevention, Resource Recovery, Waste Disposal

Contact Us

 Call: 206-477-4466

TTY Relay: 711

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