June 15, 2011

For more information:

Forest View Elementary receives Washington Green School award

Forest View Elementary School has been

honored with a Level 2 Washington Green

School certification for the 2010-11 school year.

The Forest View Green Team is headed by

fifth-grade teacher Debbie Strong and her

students who continue to work on green

certification for Forest View. They will be

honored at a school assembly on Wednesday,

June 15, at 2:45 p.m.

To achieve certification at Level 2, the Forest

View Green Team conducted a rigorous

assessment of

recycling and waste reduction

on its campus. As a result of the assessment,

the Green Team carried out a program to

reduce uneaten and unopened food in the

garbage. The school’s “No Waste Lunch” on

Earth Day resulted in a 40 percent reduction in food waste. In addition, the Green Team held a

community electronics recycling day, students created skits to share about air pollution, and

researched and informed the community about carbon footprints, as well as proper hand-washing

techniques to reduce toxins from hand sanitizers in the school.

The statewide

Washington Green Schools

program provides a free web-based structure, tools, and

resources for public and private K-12 schools to use to reduce their campus environmental footprint

and utility costs. Student leadership and community service are also key goals.

Currently, 159 Washington state schools are active and seven have achieved Level 2 since the

program began in 2009. Schools assess and take action in

energy efficiency

,

recycling and waste

reduction

,

toxics reduction and indoor air quality

,

transportation and outdoor air quality

, and water

quality and conservation on campus.

Washington Green Schools was developed by environmental and education experts throughout the

state and is currently funded by a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology. Any K-12

school in the state can register and participate in this five-level program.

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