Local school, parent, and teacher among those honored as King County Earth Heroes

Pat McLaughlin,King County Solid Waste Division Director

Students, teachers, and other members of the school community in King County who inspire and educate others by showing how simple, everyday conservation actions can contribute to a healthier planet were honored May 5 at King County’s annual Earth Heroes at School ceremony.

Honorees were lauded by King County Executive Dow Constantine at an awards ceremony at Maplewood Greens in Renton. King County Solid Waste Division Director Pat McLaughlin presented the awards.

This year the program recognizes actions in the following categories:

• Waste reduction, reuse, or recycling
• Food waste prevention or food waste collection for composting
• Household hazardous waste prevention or management
• Climate change education or greenhouse gas emissions reduction change

The honorees include three students, three student environmental clubs, a custodian, a parent, six teachers, three schools, and one school district. Twelve school districts are represented. Examples of Earth Hero projects include:

• Organizing an after-school forum to discuss race and class issues in environmentalism, mainly focusing on food justice.
• Creating a sixth-grade science unit on the health and environmental hazards of everyday cleaning products.
• Measuring daily lunch waste to strategize ways to reduce it.
• Forming a district-wide green team to share best practices among the district’s schools for reducing and recycling waste.

For more information about the Earth Heroes at School Program, contact Donna Miscolta 206-477-5282.

2015 EARTH HEROES AT SCHOOL

FOOD WASTE

Paula Konrady – Teacher, St. Luke School, Shoreline

Paula Konrady has been a galvanizing force in the school’s food scrap collection program begun two years ago. Paula has encouraged proper sorting of lunch waste, taught students about composting in science class, and scheduled recycling assemblies and classroom workshops to further educate students and staff. In the first year of the program, St. Luke increased its recycling rate from 26 to 61 percent.

WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING

Ridgecrest Elementary School – Shoreline

Ridgecrest Elementary joined the King County Green Schools Program in January 2014. The school recycles paper, cans, and bottles in classrooms, and recently began a lunchroom recycling program that includes milk carton recycling. Students monitor the recycling containers, and the student council performed skits on proper recycling. The school has a recycling rate of over 43 percent.

Maria Kearney – Parent, St. Luke School, Shoreline

Maria and the Girl Scouts at St. Luke School worked with the school’s garbage and recycling hauler to conduct a waste audit. This led to the collection of recyclables and lunchroom food scraps to achieve Level One in the King County Green Schools Program. Maria helped create a waste-free lunch campaign and other activities to encourage participation among the St. Luke community and spur enthusiasm for pursuing the next level of Green Schools Program achievement.