Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon

Our Short-Term Goals:
1) As always, first and foremost is the education and involvement of our students and community. ~Our team has already had an all-school (in the 5-12th grade building) energy contest day. We put together a “wow” fact sheet for the teachers to read to the students in order to grab some attention. Then, each classroom filled out a worksheet with two parts. Part One: Think of CREATIVE ideas students and teachers can start saving energy, reduce waste and more (starting today) both in the school and at home. Part Two: Count every bulb, every item using energy, and for how long each day, which will help the YES! team look at possible areas to save more energy output in our buildings. The team with the highest number of creative ideas wins!
It had a great response! ~Some of our longer-term goals involve teaching students and staff to recycle more efficiently as well as compost.
2)Enable students and the community to take their own steps to cut carbon and wastes. ~Our team has been selling awesome reusable grocery bags with our school logo imposed in a recycling symbol with the words “ACGC Say YES! To Our Environment.” The bags are made of recycled materials, are sturdy and reusable, and are still recyclable once they’ve been worn out. ~We have made contact with our local power companies, which have agreed to donate a large amount CFL’s, which we will distribute, install, and give information about to people in our communities.
3)Promote and implement a better recycling system. ~We have been working on placign bins in more visble and easy to access locations, as well as getting some more for the spots in the school that still are in need of a recycling bin. ~We have been promoting recycling at home sporting events by decorating the recycling bins and making announcements asking all spectators to recycle.