![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090510120054im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Quick Finder
- Awards
- AmeriCorps VISTA
- Careers/Fellowships
- EE Grant-Related Links
- EPA EE Grants
- Fun/Games
- Hot Line
- Interns
- Learning Centers
- Non-EPA Env.Info.
- Non-EPA Local Outreach
- Non-EPA Nat. Outreach
- Non-Gov't EE Grants
- PIC
- R3 Grants Program
- Reference Materials
- Schools in the News
- SEDP
- Speakers' Bureau
- Students
- Teachers
Schools in the News
Broadneck High School to go Green
Can a woodchuck save the planet?
Students go green with plastic bottles
Local students study the outdoors at forestry camp
________________________________________________________________________
Broadneck High School to go Green 
Annapolis Capital
3/23/09
Environment will be theme of new 'signature'
Attention Broadneck High students: Get ready to save the planet.
School officials said Friday the chosen theme of a new "signature" program opening this fall at Broadneck High School will be the environment, potentially with lessons in green technology, green economics or just general greening.
"We surveyed parents (and students) last year, and asked, 'What's important to you?' " said Kathi Heron, facilitator of the program. "The environment was a big part of their response. The community is vested in the bay."
Eventually, every county high school will have a "signature," meaning a themed program created specially for students at that school. Meade High School rolled out the first - a homeland security program - this year, and Broadneck and North County high schools are next on the docket.
Organizations and businesses from the Broadneck area have been recruited to guide development of the program and eventually, school officials hope, provide resources like mentors and grants.
Those who turned out for the first brainstorming session Friday morning at the Cape St. Claire Clubhouse included people from the county's recycling department, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center and Coastal Resources Inc.
That coalition influenced the choice of an environmental theme, just as the government contractors around Fort George G. Meade influenced the choice of homeland security for Meade High, officials said.
"We want this community to tell us where they want the school to go," said Kim Box, an assistant principal at Broadneck. "The community here is centered not around industry, but around the school and the environment."
Many of the details haven't yet been finalized, but Heron said she hopes to begin infusing green lessons into classes in the fall, particularly into the Foundations of Technology class, which all ninth-graders are required to take. Later, it will be expanded to encompass the whole school.
Ideas thrown out Friday included teaching students about sustainability and environmental technology through hands-on projects, using the bay as a living classroom and trying to instill in students a sense of stewardship over the waterways that make up the Broadneck peninsula.
Doug Sweeney, president of Broadneck's Citizen Advisory Committee, a parent group that advises the Board of Education, said parents are hoping the program will give students field experience and contact with green careers.
"The CAC wants to make sure there's something in it for the students, so it's not just political window dressing," he said.
For the organizations involved, helping with the program could translate into donations of time and money. But representatives at the meeting said that while times are tight, they're glad to do what they can.
"I see us as providing leadership and opportunities," said Erin O'Neal, teacher training coordinator for the bay foundation. "We want every future decision-maker to have the environment in their thoughts, so it's a good thing for us."
Rich Burger, a member of the signature support team at the school system's central office, said businesses around North County High School are pushing for the signature program there to have a hotel and hospitality management theme. School officials are working on making that flexible enough to extend across the curriculum, he said.
At Broadneck, the next step in developing the environment program will be a faculty meeting to brainstorm more ideas.
The official program theme will be announced on Earth Day, April 22, Heron said.
Can a woodchuck save the planet?
By Jenn Savedge
Mother Nature Network
3/3/09
Young environmentalists club teaches elementary students to recycle.
Can a woodchuck save the planet? It can if it is a member of the Green Woodchucks Club, a young environmentalists club at Woodstock Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Va. The club was started by Hillary Benedict, a senior at nearby Tallwood High School, as part of her senior project for her Global Studies and World Languages Academy class.
To start the club, Hillary put together a 10-minute speech and a short movie about recycling which she then presented to the elementary students at Woodstock Elementary. The film and speech teach children how to properly recycle, what products can be recycled and the process of recycling.
"Being knowledgeable about simple things, such as how to properly recycle bottle caps or the amount of greenhouse gas emissions your vehicle releases, can help our planet tremendously," says Hillary.
Hillary's presentation received rave reviews from the elementary students and has prompted Hillary to work on developing a a six-week "Go Green" Parent Teacher Association enrichment camp at Woodstock. Hillary also hopes to make the video available to more children to inspire them to make a difference in the world.
Students go green with plastic bottles
By Jennifer Fitch
Herald-Mail.com
2/16/09
MERCERSBURG, Pa. — It could be described as the ultimate recycling project, taking a product that usually harms the environment and using it instead for nature's benefit.
A James Buchanan High School class is collecting 2,000 plastic bottles to do just that. The students hope to build a greenhouse out of 2-liter bottles; construction is expected to begin this spring.
Seth Gilbert, a senior, summed up his classmates' sentiments when he talked about what they're most looking forward to after months of collecting bottles.
"I just want to build it," he said.
The computer-aided design class started learning about eco-friendly projects in the fall. Some of the students found Internet references to a method of building a greenhouse in which bamboo rods are inserted through stacked soda bottles.
Thus started the task of collecting bags and bags of green and clear bottles.
The students counted 577 bottles prior to Carol Shaw's Monday morning donation. The McConnellsburg, Pa., woman left three oversized trash bags in the school lobby.
"I think they're great. They're saving the environment," said Shaw, who has been saving bottles for the students since Christmas.
The number of bottles arriving at the school grew exponentially after a brief description of the project ran in a weekly shopper's guide. Otherwise, students like senior Brandon Graham have relied on donations from family and friends.
"They drink a lot of soda," Brandon said with a laugh.
"I didn't think we'd get so many so soon," said Travis Varner, a senior who spends some of his afternoons stacking the bottles in a display case.
The size of the greenhouse will depend on what supporting materials can be found by the class.
"We've got to get some wood first, and then we're going to start our structure," said Nathaniel Witter, a junior.
Construction could take less than two weeks, he said.
The students identified their biggest remaining challenges as obtaining enough bottles and designing a greenhouse that can withstand wind. They hope to give the greenhouse to the horticulture department.
The bottles will allow light to enter the greenhouse, while also trapping moisture inside, students said.
Reno Wilson, a senior, said the past few months' efforts have helped him develop better environmental awareness.
Local students study the outdoors at forestry camp
By Karen Gardner
Frederick News-Post Staff
February 10, 2009
Sarah Delise and Ashley Smith each knew they were interested in environmental careers, but it wasn't until after they spent a week at the Hickory Environmental Education Center in Garrett County that both decided to focus on forestry.
Last summer, Delise, 17, a senior at Middletown High School, and Smith, 16, a junior at Catoctin High School, were selected as Frederick County's representatives for the Natural Resources Careers Conference.
Two high school students from each county are accepted for the week-long conference. Scholarships are available to defray the $300 fee.
Smith became interested in environmental studies after taking an advanced placement history class early in her sophomore year. History didn't interest her much, and she picked up a class on forestry and wildlife.
"I found out it was what I was good at," she said. She signed up for the school's Environmental Academy, and became a member of the EnviroThon team. Teacher April Wells gave her a brochure about the conference.
In a camp-like setting, conference students learn about bears, fish, forestry, watersheds and wildlife management. They learn from professionals about fire suppression, basic tree measurement, tree pruning and chainsaw safety. They learn GIS mapping techniques, tour a sawmill and visit nearby state parks.
Smith spent last summer clearing trails with the Catoctin Park Youth Conservation Corps and took a week off to attend the conference.
"She's always been the kid who will touch the worms," said her mother, Judy Smith. Ashley Smith hopes to get an outdoor job this summer.
Delise became interested in environmental studies through fishing and hiking trips with her father. He saw a notice about the conference last spring and encouraged her to apply.
She's glad she did. "It covered topics and areas I've never heard of," Delise said. She takes environmental studies classes at Middletown .
Teams of conference students worked out a fictional forest management plan using real techniques. The week built up to working out the plan the students wrote based on the desires of fictional landowners.
These ranged from wildlife watching to hunting to fishing. They discussed which trees to cut and when in an effort to maintain forest health.
After the camp, Ashley Smith decided to join her school's FFA chapter, which she said offers lessons on soil conservation and other land use issues.
"I'd say it was one of the best experiences I've ever had," Delise said of the conference. "It's so incredibly well put-together."
Delise is headed to Virginia Tech in the fall to study forestry. Ashley Smith plans to start at Frederick Community College and transfer to West Virginia University's forestry program. Because Maryland state universities offer no four-year forestry program, students can pay in-state tuition to study forestry at state universities in surrounding states.
