Improving Recycling at School

2019, Sacramento, California, USA

Suliana Tagitau, Emily Valtierra, and Tylique Watkins wanted to improve recycling at their school. They recognized that while there were bins in some classrooms, they were not universally recognized as recycling bins and hardly used. They also noticed that there were no bins where they were needed most, like in the courtyard area where most students ate lunch.

old bins in some classrooms

These George Washington Carver High School students submitted a proposal to buy larger classic blue bins for the lunch area, which they would decorate to attract attention and promote use. They would then use the extra paint to refurbish some of the old bins in the classrooms, to make them easily recognizable. Finally, classic blue bins would be purchased for classrooms without any existing bins.

The group also plans to attach a small laminated sheet to each bin reminding students and teachers what can and can’t be recycled. Caring for Our Watersheds funds helped purchase the bins and paint for the project.

Abstract Awareness Painting

2019, Mountain View High School, Loveland, Colorado, USA

Carson Duemig, Nik Hochheimer, Jaron Davis, Jeremy Gray
The Big Thompson Watershed and communities in this watershed have fallen victim to toxic chemicals due to the use of toxic paints that leave an everlasting mark on the watershed. This group of students put together an abstract painting that will be displayed in the children’s section to the Loveland Public Library. They hope that their painting will spark conversation amongst kids and their families about the harmful effects that we can have on our watersheds. They also hope that their audience will decrease their use of toxic paints.
Abstract

Water Tolerance 101

Water Tolerance

2019, Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Branden Wiechert, Trey Grass
Branden and Trey worked towards increasing the number of drought tolerant and native plants in their communities to decrease the use of water. They believe high school students are key to improving their watershed. They educated their peers on the issue and the benefits from using native, drought tolerant plants. Branden and Trey passed along this information through the flyers they posted around their school and community and hosted several plant sales that were open to the public. Their project helped their community cut their water bills, decrease their water use, increase proper wildlife habitats, and increase groundwater recharge.
Water Tolerance

Energy Saving Campaign

Energy

2019, Fossil Ridge High School, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Gabriela Carcasson, Madison Torrey, Jack Kraus, David Casey
65% of our energy comes from coal. Acid mine drainage contaminates watersheds as oxidized substances runoff into bodies of water and change the pH. In addition to computers, printers, projectors, and TVs, there are numerous appliances used by teachers, such as coffeemakers, lamps, microwaves, and mini fridges. These students focused on educating their peers and teachers about energy usage. Teachers were surveyed on their energy use, electrical timers for appliances were distributed, and stickers were placed around the school to educate peers and teachers. This group of students also presented at the Environmental Leadership Summit –a sustainability conference for students all over Northern Colorado put on by Fossil’s environmental club—where they handed out stickers and timers.
Energy

For Your Tires

2019, Northridge High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Sergio Lopez, Daniel Casas
According to Sergio and Daniel, improper tire air pressure can affect your mileage up to 3%. Improper air pressure can increase our use of gasoline which then leads to higher use of fossil fuels that contribute to green house gasses. This in turn affects our watershed. Sergio and Daniel hosted several tire clinics at their school to educate their peers about the issue. They also checked their peers’ tire pressure and aired them up to the appropriate tire pressure for those that needed it. These students also collected data on their peers tire pressure and collaborated with Les Schwab tire whom assisted them with the tire clinics. Each student to have their tires checked received free snacks and a tire pressure gauge. Of all the cars they tested, 50% of those cars needed air. Their calculations show that 13 cars saved 3.8 gal of gasoline each week once their tires were filled to the appropriate amount which computes to over 2 tons of CO2 not entering the Poudre watershed.
For your tires

Let’s Stop Sitting on the Issue, and Sit on the Solution

Sit on Solution

2019, Greeley Central High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Eliana Mascarenas
Bottle caps are one of the top 5 types of trash found on beaches. Furthermore, in beach cleanup activities around the world from the past 30 years, over 20 million caps have been found. The Poudre watershed is connected to the Mississippi, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Everything we deposit in our rivers, even the tiniest piece of plastic, impacts the bigger picture. As her solution, Eliana educated the public about how much they are contributing to the issue. She put together a bottle cap drive within several schools and collected over 200 lbs. of plastic bottles. Those bottle caps were then delivered to a recycling center and were traded for a bench made out of plastic bottle caps.

Sit on Solution

Poopy Problems

2019, Greeley Central High School, Greeley, Colorado, USA

Alexandria Sherman-Sutton
Dogs drop a total of 390 million pounds of poop per year in Colorado alone. That is equivalent to 4,126 dump trucks full of waste. When the waste decomposes, it runs-off into local rivers and lakes polluting streams, rivers, and local waterways. That whole process not only causes pollution, but also carries bacteria, pesticides, and diseases. In water samples taken from urban areas, studies have found that 20 to 30 percent of the bacteria in water traces back to dog waste. That same bacteria pollutes the air and our water. A study of air samples concluded that up to 50 percent of bacteria originates from dog poop. For her project, Alexandria installed 12 dog bag stations around her community along with signs that educate the public about picking up after their dogs. She also raised an additional $700 to install another 10 stations in her watershed. These stations can be found at these locations: Poudre River Trail Corridor, Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area, Signature Bluffs Natural Area: Greeley Parks & Natural Areas, Josephine B. Jones Park & Open Space, Poudre Ponds Recreational Fishery, and Island Grove Regional Park.
Poopy Problems

Got Bags?

Got Bags

2019, Greeley Central High School, Greely, Colorado, USA

Emma Lackey, Rachel Feinstein
Emma and Rachel were concerned that plastic bags were harming their watershed. Plastic bags get caught in storm drains and make their way into our watersheds. These plastic bags also contain dangerous chemicals that leach into our water sources. Emma and Rachel calculated that approximately 28 million plastic bags are used in Greeley every year. That’s why they decided to educate the public on the harmful effects plastic bags has on our watersheds. They also distributed reusable bags to help the public combat this issue in their daily lives. Emma and Rachel set up booths outside grocery stores to talk to customers, educate them on the problem, and ask them to use the reusable bags they were handing out. Emma and Rachel also managed to raise an additional $2,000 for their project.

Got Bags

GROW DON’T THROW

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Grow Don't Throw image
In Wyoming High School’s AP Environmental class, students learned about the watershed and entered a citywide watershed contest. This project challenged individuals to generate and implement an idea that would benefit their watershed. One group, composed of students, Jenny Lewis, Stella Dionysiou, and Carla Unzueta had a goal of building a compost bin for their high school or one of the primary schools in their location. Unfortunately, the initial plan was rejected by the schools, so they began to think about another way they could implement a bin into the community.

In the end, the group constructed a compost bin for a neighborhood in Wyoming Ohio. This was done in an effort to reduce household food waste and educate children and adults alike about the importance of recycling nutrients and environmental sustainability. By composting, people can decrease waste in landfills that contributes to greenhouse gases such as methane. Such gases can expedite global warming and pollute both the atmosphere and the water in communities. Additionally, compost can also help to save water, prevent erosion, and create a rich humus-soil that can be used in gardens.

Creating the bin proved to be more difficult than expected. After transporting long wooden planks and chicken wire into their backyards, the group was tasked with the process of construction. First the wood was cut and measured to the appropriate size. Next the planks were drilled to the posts of the bin with an electric drill. This took several attempts, as the wood proved to be quite hard to drill through. Finally, the chicken wire was stapled to the inside of the bin using a staple gun. After six hours of hard work, the bin was complete!

After the bin’s completion, the girls contacted neighbors about the bin’s construction and informed them of its role as a compost bin for the neighborhood. The neighborhood children were invited over to view the bin and learn about its function in recycling waste and were informed about what could go in the bin. Encouraged by their small victory, the students hope that their efforts will encourage others to follow in their footsteps. Their efforts have already inspired another compost project in Wyoming.

RETHINK RECYCLING

2019, CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES

Trisha Leyda, Megan Glass, Ally Zwelling, and Isabella Richardson realized that improper recycling habits, especially in public places, is a problem. They came up with a solution to create signs that are easily understood and catered towards the location they are placed in in order to educate the community. Their high school, Ursuline Academy, had tried to improve recycling while at school, but the system was flawed. The paper recycling bins were old crates and paper would often fall from the holes. The signs were difficult to understand because they used only words. People would not follow the signs and then non-recyclable items would end up in the bins contaminating the recyclable items. There was a lack of consistency and communication throughout the school about recycling.

The solution to this issue was to educate the community through a competition and revamping of the recycling system at Ursuline. This began as a two part process, with old crates being replaced with new blue recycling bins, then informative signs being attached to clarify what was and was not recyclable. Previously, there were four bins that were for bottle recycling, but did not have lids. New lids were purchased and placed on these bins so that people would know it was just bottle recycling without looking at the signs. Each grade was assigned their own bottle recycling bin in the cafeteria and their goal was to have the highest proportion of properly recycled items to win a baked good party.

The community responded very well to the signs and bins. Many teachers were excited to get rid of the old crates and have a more concise recycling sign on the bin. The recycling was already improving before the competition began because of the new signs. By the time the competition began, there was already a positive response. The goal of educating the community was a success because everyone learned to improve their recycling skills. At the end of the competition, Ursuline’s Earth Action Team was invited to continue the competition each year and teach incoming freshman about recycling at school. This project helped and will continue to help the watershed. It reduces the amount of waste through recycling at Ursuline and the larger community.