Lincoln Public Schools continues to serve as a community leader in waste management. During the 2021-22 school year, over 1.2 million pounds of recyclables were collected, and over 1.2 million pounds of organic materials were collected for composting. This resulted in an annual diversion rate of 47%! Need a refresh on the LPS recycling procedures? Review the recycling guidelines HERE.
Environmental impact reports are now available for the 2021-22 school year. As a result of recycling efforts, LPS saved:
- 9,044 trees
- 2,181,247 kWh of energy
- 3,724,080 gallons of water
- 1,756 cubic yards of local landfill space
- 31,921 lbs of air pollution
- 218,125 gallons of fuel
The Sustainability Team has been providing internship opportunities for university students since 2016. These internships not only provide hands-on experience for students, they have also been a great help to our various programs. The team is gaining 3 new interns to support efforts throughout our district during the 2022-23 school year. We are very excited to have more support and expertise to grow sustainability efforts in your building. Meet the team and learn more about their roles HERE.
Compost Program grows to 63 buildings
Lincoln Public schools has added two new buildings to the compost program, Northwest High and Robinson Elementary. These schools will be doing school-wide composting, which means collecting organics in the cafeteria AND throughout the building in classrooms, offices, and restrooms. We now have 63 buildings across the district participating in the compost program!
The Lincoln Public Schools Sustainability Department, along with school and community partners, hosted a Garden Gathering at Mickle Middle School right before the start of the new school year. Garden Gatherings are held quarterly to allow staff, parents and community partners who support school gardens and outdoor learning to come together to connect and learn from one another [more].
If you want to get connected to our school gardens Slack Workspace so you can get the latest school garden updates and resources, please e-mail Jackson Farho at jfarho@lps.org
The Green Schools Recognition Program is back for the 2022-23 school year! Read all about the 50+ available green activities you can do at your school and set a goal to earn points AND funding for a sustainability project! This program is available for all schools to participate, and ANYONE can report activities - teachers, parents, CLC staff, etc. Just remember to take a picture for your submission!
Click HERE to read more about the program and start picking your green school activities!
Club Support Available
We are very excited to share that we have team members available to support environmentally themed clubs at your school. Support can be for an environmental club, eco club, garden club, or whatever other group you may have in the works to engage students in environmental activities. Our team can help as the official club leader OR they can stop in for a one-time visit to an existing club. This semester they have availability on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. This opportunity is available on a first come first serve basis, so if you are interested in exploring this option further, please e-mail us at sustainability@lps.org
Recycle your electronics at Southwest High School on Saturday, September 24th from 8 am to 12 pm. Donations will support LSW Music! For more information about the event and the accepted materials, check out this FLYER.
Join the celebration on October 12th by registering your own walk to school event HERE. Walking or biking to school promotes healthier habits and a cleaner environment. These special events are also a great opportunity to promote safety! For more resources and information, check out the Walk to School website.
Stay Connected
Is your school doing great things to make our schools green? We want to hear about it! Please contact Brittney Albin at balbin@lps.org if you have a story to share about your school sustainability efforts.
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