Recycling and composting reports – September 2019
Environmental impact reports are now available for September. As a result of recycling efforts last month, LPS saved:
-
714 trees
-
172,272 kWh of energy
-
294,123 gallons of water
-
139 cubic yards of local landfill space
-
2,521 lbs of air pollution
-
17,227 gallons of fuel
Compost Program diverting over one million pounds annually
The compost program was implemented in 4 more schools at the beginning of the year, bringing the total up to 57 participating schools. Congratulations to Hartley Elementary, Randolph Elementary, Lincoln High, and North Star. LPS is expected to save over a million pounds of waste annually from the landfill through the composting program!
November 15th is America Recycles Day and there are plenty of ways to celebrate at your school. Keep America Beautiful has Activities for K-12 Schools to choose from including the #BERECYCLED pledge. There are some LPS schools participating in the PepsiCo Recycle Rally competition, which has a grand prize of $50,000! Schools participating will be giving extra attention to promoting and supporting the recycling efforts in their building during the competition. Between now and November 30th you can earn a $50 pre-paid gift card just by participating in an intra-school contest through PepsiCo. [more]
Across the district, high school Family Consumer Science classes have been introducing tower gardens in the classroom and have started conversations about the Farm to Table concept. A tower garden is a vertical growing system [more]
The great garbage talk
1st quarter has wrapped up, which means another 3,000+ kindergarten students have completed their Garbology science unit and learned all about Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost! This unit is accompanied by a presentation from members of the LPS Sustainability Department, Keep Lincoln Lancaster County Beautiful, and the City of Lincoln Solid Waste Management Division. During this presentation, students watch a video showing Lincoln’s Bluff Road Landfill. They also learn about litter prevention and get to see real examples of products made from the items we recycle every day. All kindergarten students take home a pencil made from recycled paper, and are provided a Waste Reduction and Recycling Guide to take home and share with their family.
Looking forward to springtime gardens
Temperatures are beginning to drop, but now is a great time to be thinking about your garden plans for the spring! Any new projects need to be approved by Facilities, so be sure to check out the requirements and steps for that process in the LPS Garden Manual. This process can take awhile, so it is better to begin now!
If you’re interested in a having a Master Gardener, there is now an LPS FORM available for anyone to fill out if they would like to request a volunteer for their garden. Please take time to look over the application and carefully plan your request - this will improve your likelihood of being selected by a Master Gardener Volunteer.
The LPS Sustainability website has a few LPS school garden stories you can check out. You can also look at the LPS School Garden Inventory to see what each school has in their garden!
A zero waste event is a great opportunity to minimize the amount of waste, such as containers food or drinks come in, that is created through one game, PTO meeting, family fun night, or any other school related activity! [more]
Green Schools National Network memberships benefits are available
Lincoln Public Schools is a member of the Green Schools National Network, which means ALL of our staff have free access to Green Teacher Magazine. You can read their most recent Fall 2019 issue or check out any previous issues by using the log-in password 119solar.
There are also tons of great stories in the Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly. Check out the latest issue HERE to learn more about the role of schools in community health and resilience.
You can also create your very own GSNN membership page to stay up-to-speed on the latest in green, healthy, and sustainable schools through Green Teacher magazine, GreenNotes, and the Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly.
The points are rolling in from our Green Schools Recognition Program activities. Several schools had green team meetings, worked in their garden, and took their classroom lessons outside! Mickle took their students outside to identify plants and write the names down in Spanish. This is a great example of a Green Schools Recognition Program activity merging together curriculum and outdoor learning!
Learn more about the Green Schools Recognition Program. You can join anytime!
Stay Connected
Connect with us on twitter and our facebook page!
