At the beginning of this school year, staff members at Crispell Middle School decided, in addition to academic excellence, they would strive to make a big difference in our environment.
“When we heard about the Orange County Green Star Schools Program (OCGSSP), Crispell Middle School was excited to jump on board,” said Assistant Principal Jennifer Lepore.
The OCGSSP began in 2017. The program, based on successful national examples such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Program and Ecocycle’s School Recycling Program, was developed to promote waste reduction and environmental education in K-12 schools throughout Orange County, according to its website.
After initiating the school’s participation in the program, Crispell put together a team of enthusiastic staff members that has been working together with their recycling coordinator to establish goals and strategies to achieve them, according to Lepore. There are also currently 15 students on the Crispell Green Team.
So far, so good.
Crispell has already met some of the recommended mile markers, including conducting a waste analysis, adding recycle bins next to the trash cans and encouraging the use of reusable water bottles by installing water bottle refilling stations.
They have done more, participating in the Trex School Plastic Film Recycling Program. As a result of the Trex School Recycling, Crispell has contributed 130 pounds of plastic film and bags. They were one of 700 schools nationwide to participate.
Coming up: better recycling practices throughout the school and a composting program for organic waste. That’s in addition to ongoing outreach to students about reducing, reusing and recycling. Crispell is promoting locker and desk clean outs with an emphasis on reusing and recycling. It is participating in the Crayola Colorcycle program for recycling markers.
“Crispell Middle School is happy to say that we are getting greener,” Lepore stated. “We are striving to meet as many of our goals and the recommended mile markers as we can so that we can be a Green Star School.”