Maine

• Falmouth Middle School

  Falmouth, ME

  Dede Bennell, Service-Learning Coordinator and
  Craig Shain, Teacher
  The Team Green after-school club at Falmouth Middle School worked with a sixth-grade class to help reduce the students' carbon footprint, by composting cafeteria waste.

• Forest Hills Consolidated School

Jackman, ME
Corinne C. Cost, Science Teacher/Dept. Chairperson
The students studied environmental science and ways to reduce their schools carbon footprint. They investigated alternative energy possibilities and ways to use a nature trail on school grounds to meet the needs of their school community.

• Lake Region High School

  Naples, ME
  Brian Clark, Sophomore Team Leader

  The Sophomore Team built and maintained a trail near the school by connecting Tingley Brook to Holt Pond.

• Lincoln Middle School
  Portland, ME
  Rob Lindsay, Science Teacher

  Seventh-grade students created and implemented a plan to replace Styrofoam cafeteria trays with recyclable paperboard trays and compost food waste. They produced a series of short videos to track the school's waste and documented the progress of their service-learning project. Students shared their documentation with others schools in the city.

• Longfellow Elementary School

Portland, ME
Elizabeth Meahl, Partnership Developer/Education Technician
Elizabeth Peterson, Teacher
To promote greening through writing, students investigated issues related to recycling, existing gardens behind the school and a variety of other green topics. They published a book of their writings to help educate their community about environmental issues.

• Mildred L. Day School
  Arundel, ME
  Jon Woodcock, Teacher and Jenn Dumas, Community Partner

  Recycling was identified as a way to reduce waste in the school and community. Through posters and presentations, students encouraged the use of recycling as a way to go green.

• Noble Middle School

  Berwick, ME
  Catherine Mende, Green Team Leader/Literacy Specialist
  In an effort to solve the problem of too much solid waste going to landfills, the Green Team members developed and implemented a plan to turn school lunch food waste into usable soil in their school gardens through on-site composting.
  

• Poland Regional High School

  Poland, ME
  Michelle Smith, Environmental Studies Teacher

  The environmental studies class and the Go Green club implemented a single-stream recycling program in the school. As part of their service-learning project, they educated the school community about the importance of recycling.

• Presumpscot School
  Portland, ME
  Rebecca Maiorano, K-1 teacher

To address the need for healthy food choices and comfortable and safe space for families to play and relax, students designed and created a garden area near the playground.

• Samuel L. Wagner Middle School

Winterport, ME

Carol Kiesman, Gifted/Talented Teacher, Grades 5-8

Students noticed that a lot of biodegradable waste was generated at their school. Working with community members, and through a visit to a neighboring school's garden project, they began composting in their own school, educate the school community about the process and produced rich soil for the school's flower gardens.

• Sherwood Heights Elementary School
  Auburn, ME
  William Murray, Third Grade Teacher
  Students analyzed the solid waste output from their school by examining trash. They found recyclable and reusable materials, and waste in the trash that could be composted. Working with the Auburn Solid Waste Committee and other community partners, the students developed plans to raise awareness about how to increase recycling and composting throughout their school community.

• The New School

Kennebunk, ME

Christine Knowles, Teacher/Advisor

The "From Field to Table" project featured a dinner of local foods, a workshop and a speaker once a month. While learning about nutrition, local foods and farming, the students informed the community about buying local.

• Trenton Elementary School

Trenton, ME
Barbara S. Keene, Teacher, Grade 1

Students worked to reduce the amount of cafeteria waste that ends up in landfills by composting and providing fertilized soil for a butterfly garden and greenhouse. The students learned about composting worms into soil, and developed math and language skills throughout the project.

• Walton Elementary School
  Auburn, ME
  Diana Carson, Auburn Waste Management Committee Member
  Students in the Recycling Club monitored and expanding a new paper recycling program in the school. They investigated ways to increase the recycling rate to at least 30%. Through informative posters and presentations, they educated the school community to increase recycling.

• W.G. Mallett Elementary School
  Farmington, ME
  Tracy Williams, Principal
  Third-graders worked to reduce school cafeteria food waste. The students learned how to compost and linked this to the process of growing food by using the soil to make additional improvements in the school garden.

• Windham Middle School

Windham, ME

Aaron Vachon, Sixth Grade Teacher

This student-led project addressed paper waste through a campaign to educate the school community to recycle and reduce paper use and waste.

• Windham Middle School

Windham, ME
Eliza Adams, Health Teacher

Students grew lettuce and salad veggies in the classroom, with the support of local farmers and learned about food, nutrition and farming issues. When the "crop" is ready, the students will celebrate by planning "Lettuce Celebrate" salad parties for a tasty hands-on nutrition experience.

• Youthlinks/Rockland After School Alliance (RASA), Rockland, ME
  Ashley Megquier, Program Manager, Youthlinks
  Students in the RASA program at Rockland District High School planned and constructed a multi-use trail adjacent to the high school in collaboration with the Georges River Land Trust. The trail enhanced hands-on science classes at the school for years to come.

• Medomak Middle School
  Waldoboro, ME
  Lorraine Knight and Glenda Robinson, Eighth Grade Teachers
  In partnership with Knox County Soil and Conservation Commission, Cooperative Extension, and town officials, students investigated problems related to water quality in their community to planned to improve water quality.

Massachusetts

• Amherst Regional Middle School

Amherst, MA

Jennifer Jensen, Humanities Teacher

To get plastic bottles out of the waste stream, students placed recycle bins in the school and educated the school community about recycling. They participated in a river clean-up to show the impact of plastic bottles and other waste that is not recycled or disposed of properly.

• Hamilton Wenham GREEN and Cultler School

Hamilton, MA

Alisa Greco and Barbara Lawrence, Co-Presidents, Hamilton Wenham GREEN

Students planned and implemented an anti-idling awareness program to improve air quality. To further promote heart-healthy and earth-friendly activities, students took part in Walk to School Wednesday, a campaign that encourages the school community to walk, ride bikes, carpool or take the bus.

• Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School

Haydenville, MA

Laurie Risler, Teacher, Grades 4-5

Students learned about sharing small decisions everyone can make that collectively make a big difference. They trained classroom green ambassadors to educate the entire school community about reducing energy consumption. They studied electricity use at their school and tracked progress toward their school-wide energy reduction goal.

• J.R. Briggs Elementary and Nashua River Watershed Association Groton, MA
  Mary Marro, NRWA Environmental Education DirectorStudents learned about invasive wetland plants and explored techniques to control them. After studying a wetland near their school, their project included developing materials and presentations to inform younger students and the community about wetland preservation and what they can do to help control invasive species.

• Juvenile Advocacy Group Youth Council

Milford, MA

Alyssa Wyman, Community Organizer

The Juvenile Advocacy Group (JAG) Youth Council organized an Earth Day 2010 event: "Go Green with the Lorax." They educated grades K-2 at Milford's Memorial Elementary School about environmental issues and distributed reusable bags to reduce the use of single-use paper and plastic shopping bags.

• Millbury Jr. Sr. High School
  Milbury, MA
  Mark Sutphen, Teacher, Grade 8 Science
  Students studied alternative energy sources and other ways to reduce their school’s carbon footprint. In partnership with Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc. (a waste to energy plant), they educated the school community about environmental issues in their school.

• Seven Hills Charter Public School

Worcester, MA

Kathleen Holton, Music Exploratory Teacher
Grades K-8

To increase awareness and use of recycling, students used waste paper from classrooms to make paper and art screens. Students learned songs about recycling and the environment and performed at the Ecotarium and KIDS Summit Talent Show.

• South Shore Charter Public School

Norwell, MA

Sarah Roberts, Teacher, Grades 3-4

WOW! THEY HAVE JUST WON THIS YEAR'S AMERICA'S GREENEST SCHOOL CONTEST! Congratulations!

After spending several weeks investigating the needs in and around their community, the third- and fourth-grade students have decided to become the official "Waste Watchers" of their school, with a focus on food waste, hunger and nutrition. The students addressed the problem of food waste by introducing composting to the school. Students hope to improve nutrition, not only in the school but in the community, using hydroponic, indoor gardening with the hopes of growing and donating fresh produce during the cold winter months to a local homeless shelter.

• Sterling Middle School

Quincy, MA

Gina Joyce, Youth Council Facilitator/Reading Teacher, Grade 6

The Helping Hands Youth Council at Sterling Middle School evaluated toxic products used to clean the school and developed a plan to replace them with healthier, environmentally friendly alternatives - one classroom at a time.

• Winchester High School

Winchester, MA

Allison Kangas, History Teacher, Grades 9-10

Students studied the impact that growing Victory Gardens had during WWI and WWII and also their revival in the local foods movement. They are developing and implementing a plan to help green their school, with the school garden project.

New Hampshire

• Breathe New Hampshire

Bedford, NH

Diane Smogor, Director

Members of the New Hampshire Youth Network's Youth Advisory Board, coordinated by Breathe New Hampshire, worked with their peers to address outdoor air quality around high schools by educating themselves and their communities about air pollution, anti-idling programs and the relationship between air quality and health.

• Pine Tree School - Project SUCCEED

Center Conway, NH

Heidi Belle-Isle, Project SUCCEED After-School Program Director

Students cleaned up a neglected nature trail behind the school that offers many opportunities to address health, education and environmental needs of the school community.

• The Whitefield School

Whitefield, NH

Melissa Jellison, Teacher, Grade 6

Adjacent to the sixth-grade students' school is a forgotten wetland. Through their service-learning project, and in partnership with the Appalachian Mountain Club, students studied the quality of the local ecosystem, sharing information with the community about wetlands and becoming advocates for the wetland area near the school.

New York

• Lyme Central School

Chaumont, NY

Deborah Wilkinson, Science Teacher, Grades 8-9

Students have noticed a lack of sufficient recycling containers in their school. To address this, they are educating the school community to improve recycling in their school.

• Montessori Magnet School

Albany, NY

Jannine Walton, Teacher, Grade 5

Students used a display of a full day's worth of cafeteria trash, and informative handouts, to educate the school community about the amount of trash generated daily. To select their service-learning project, they collected data and researched ways to reduce the amount of waste produced in the school cafeteria. They moved toward their zero-waste lunch goal to replace disposable materials, such as plastic utensils, with reusable silverware.

• PS 4/Duke Ellington School

New York, NY

Donna Lennon, Librarian

Students in the school's Going Green organization focused on recycling. Going Green was founded in 2007 by a fifth-grader at the school who wanted to help save the earth. Students learned about recycling bins and trash containers. and educated the school community about their use. They used books, lessons, prizes and presentations to encourage students to properly recycle paper, plastic and metals.

Rhode Island