I want to help my school "go green" but..how?
Posted by admin on Jul 28, 2010
I’m 16 years old and see the constant waste that generates from everyday school life and want to know how I can help my school and community to go green.
call your local trash service (make sure you call the industrial brnahc for larger quantities of trash) and ask if they would donate a couple of recycling bins for your lunch room at school, or if they won’t,get a quote. remember that a school is tax exempt. after you have your figures, set up a meeting with your board of education, citing costs and possible ways to raise the money, ask your school’s key club to hold an event like a bake sale or something like that.’
more than likely, your school can take a chunk of it’s budget to afford the facilities you need. even if they don’t bite right away, they might reward your efforts and planning anyway. do anything you cxan, you know?
key word recycle, many people throw plastic bottles and aluminum cans in the trash because there too lazy to find a recycling bin, just put a bin next to every trash can, you can also plant some small trees and flowers
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Start with recycling cans and bottles. Help your school raise money for bins dedicated to recycled materials in the cafeteria and in classrooms. Then, encourage your school to use recycled paper products (napkins, toilet paper, paper towels, etc all made from recycled products). You can get some other ideas from these sites:
http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php
http://www.regeneration.org
http://www.WeCanSolveIt.org
http://www.OurEarth.org
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call your local trash service (make sure you call the industrial brnahc for larger quantities of trash) and ask if they would donate a couple of recycling bins for your lunch room at school, or if they won’t,get a quote. remember that a school is tax exempt. after you have your figures, set up a meeting with your board of education, citing costs and possible ways to raise the money, ask your school’s key club to hold an event like a bake sale or something like that.’
more than likely, your school can take a chunk of it’s budget to afford the facilities you need. even if they don’t bite right away, they might reward your efforts and planning anyway. do anything you cxan, you know?
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I got my apt. complex to do the same thing.
are you sure you dont want to control people
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Protecting the planet can also be part of your daily life at school. Here are a few ideas for getting your friends & teachers involved in the fight to save the planet:
Pack a garbageless lunch, take a reusable container instead.
Join the environmental club if there is one or start your own.
Make environmental studies part of every subject taught in your school.
Brainstorm environmental projects with other students & teachers.
Request a non-toxic environment in your school. Examine your school’s cleaning supplies, lawn care, supplies & paint. Ask your environmental group to come up with a list of environmental guidelines for the school.
Don’t leave taps running while you are not using them.
Turn lights on only when needed & turn them off when you’re done to save energy.
Use recycled paper instead of plastic products.
Take online courses
Save leftover food instead of throwing it away.
Buy products that use the least packaging.
Give away clothing when you’re done with it instead of throwing it away.
Use the public library for books & magazines or give yours when you’re finished with them.
Take a backpack with you when you go shopping to avoid plastic bags.
Plant a tree. Trees can absorb & store huge amounts of carbon dioxide & generate oxygen while purifying the air we breathe. Start the seedling in a pot indoors & plant it outside in spring. Seedlings need a care the first two years, including water, vertical support & mulch, so you will be able to see the tree grow & take its place in the cycle of nature as you care for it.
If you’d like help in making your self sufficient steps, feel free to contact me directly. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online & on-site workshops, seminars & internships to help others “help the environment”.
Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online & on-site workshops, seminars & internships to help others help the environment.
Dan Martin
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Whether you go for the group effort or the lone effort - you are going to have a much easier time if you have support from the administration. This means the principle; the principle is the boss of the teachers. In turn, the principle may need support and/or permission from their boss to do much if anything.
The good news is that going green is a good PR thing and often saves money. This makes for an easier time instituting things.
Recycling is probably the quickest and easiest way to start getting green. This means that you will need a collection area(s) and to arrange for pick-up. Item you might consider are mixed paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles. Again, speak to your principle to see if the idea is at all possible, the concerns they have, the concerns they will have to address with thier boss. You may have to start out small in one area, only with school staff, with only one type of recyclable, or in some other scaled down version. It is better to do well with what you do than to bust. If you do well, it is possible to expand. If you bust, it make take all the more to get someone to take the risk ever again.
Getting one’s hands dirty and doing a project that you can see the difference in/with is often a good way to gather ground level support and interest. You might also see if you can plant a tree or some self maintaining vegetation on the school grounds. The tree would be a good help in terms of green and symbolic of "green". Some of the other types of vegetation may not be as helpful in reducing green house gasses. But, having it self-maintaining is right in line with green living. Look for vegetation that is "self-mounding", "naturalizing", and maybe even "native". Of course, interspursing self-maintaining native vegetation among the other ornamentals is considered "the green thing" to do in the gardening world. This would probaly require not only your principle’s permission but, also permission from someone in the district’s office. Towards picking some possibilities, see if you have a gardening teacher, you can connect to your county’s land grant school extention office, or someone from your county’s Master Gardener program. Just going through the process to plant a tree or other vegetation will give you a learning experience you can keep with you the rest of your life; it wouldn’t look too bad on a college application either.
Aside from gathering support from your principle, things will go all the better and further if you had fellow student support. You can do this in a relatively informal way through word of mouth. Or, you may decide to take it a little formal as an official ASB organization; this doesn’t mean you get any funding, just that you get formal recognition. You might also see if you can get some teacher support. And, you may even get some parental support if you have a PTA or booster club. If you remain an informal group of one, or more, you might also see if you can get support from existing ASB organizations such as Key Club, etc… Heck, you may even get limited support from one of the teams, at least for the season.
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