Green Committee Commits to Learning and Action
June 23, 2014 by
Activities include guest speakers from NOAA and Rock Creek Conservancy, School Compost and Reduce Plastics Campaigns, and Environmental Skits
The JPDS-NC Green Committee is a group of second through sixth grade students and teachers committed to helping JPDS-NC Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rethink! The committee meets twice a month during lunch to plan recycling initiatives, discuss how to teach the JPDS-NC community about making sustainable decisions, and encourage practices that reduce waste and our impact on the environment.
Last year, the Green Committee heard an excellent presentation from Nina Garfield from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about global warming and the impacts of sea level rise. They also heard from Karen Zeiter at the Rock Creek Conservancy about protecting the Rock Creek Watershed. Thank you to parent volunteer Ruth Polk for coordinating these visits.
Later, the sixth grade members of the Green Committee led a school-wide compost challenge. The challenge lasted for seven weeks. Every Friday, committee members collected the compost from each classroom and weighed it before putting it outside. The school composted a total of 2,033.69 ounces of food waste in that time frame! The winning class (Etrogim, with 477.70 ounces) got to spend one of their lunches playing compost and recycling games and eating delicious fruit with the Green Committee members. Kol Hakavod to everyone!
The Green Committee members also created skits to remind the students at JPDS-NC about important environmental messages, and then performed the skits at the South Campus for our youngest students. The skits focused on such important topics as recycling, composting, and remembering where to put your waste.
This year, the Green Committee launched an information and social action campaign aimed at reducing the use of plastic utensils in school. Congratulations to the Green Committee, and keep up the good work!
