Jan. 26, 2006
King County seeks nominations of Earth Heroes in local schools
King County is looking for local students, teachers or school staff whose work to protect the environment in schools will make them a contender for an Earth Heroes at Schools award. Teachers, students, staff, specific programs or entire schools may be nominated.
"We know King County has many shining examples of creative and effective Earth Heroes in our schools," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "These are the people and programs who are working to maintain our environmental legacy in this county and they deserve to be honored."
Winners will be honored at King County's fifth annual Earth Heroes at Schools event this spring.
Among last year's recipients were Black Diamond Elementary School teachers, Sara Davis and Linda Reiter and custodian Wendy Leishman. Davis, Reiter and Leishman lead an innovative waste-reduction and recycling campaign that encouraged the participation of students, faculty and staff. Their environmental efforts included reuse of paper in the staff work room; a switch from disposable lunchroom items to reusable trays and utensils and recyclable drink containers; and a letter writing effort to protest the amount of junk mail being delivered to the school. As a result of the students' letters, the school saw a substantial reduction in the amount of junk mail received.
Last year's Earth Heroes were nominated by colleagues and classmates who wanted to honor their on-going commitment to preserving the natural environment through educational efforts.
Nomination forms are available for download on the King County Executive's Web site, or by calling Donna Miscolta, at 206-296-4477. Nominations will be accepted until March 10, 2006. Award winners will be acknowledged at an Earth Heroes at Schools award ceremony in May 2006.
The Earth Heroes at Schools Program is designed to not only honor the work done but to provide a model for environmental efforts other schools or organizations can adopt.