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Marisa Vanness
CAS 138T
Dr. Veena Raman
16 March 2016
To the Faculty and Staff of Montrose Area School District, Pennsylvania,
Earth Day Every Day: Why Every School Should Be an Eco-School
Dear School Board of Montrose, Faculty, and Staff,
I understand there have recently been issues with negotiating teachers contracts
and benefits due to lack of funds. Many schools across the country are running into issues
with allocating funds efficiently. I would like to demonstrate that schools can save money
and become better by going green. There are amny reasons why it is important to
become environmental stewards, but I would like to highlight some of the ways in which
going green will save the school money, help in our community, and decrease the
collective impact on the environment; many of these actions are already taking place in
other public schools and there are various programs that help alleviate the costs. Through
the reduction of wasteful material, composting, recycling, and learning from other
schools before Montrose, I believe a huge difference can take place in our community.
How did we move towards disposable materials? During and after the industrial
revolution, people were more concerned with convenience and, as a result, disposable
goods became more popular. Cheap and Easy became a slogan, but in reality, it is often
not as cheap as one may think. Think about the number of disposable products used every
day: coffee cups, napkins, plasticware, anything with plastic wrap, lunch bags, and water
bottles. Many adults were taught that disposability was easier and cheaper, but now it is

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the job of the future generations to change this idea in the hopes that a better, more
habitable Earth will exist.
Consider some statistics about human consumption: according to Environmental
Protection Agency Data from 2006, humans produce 4.6 pounds of trash per person per
day; 35% of that waste comes from schools and businesses. Only 33% of the total waste
in the U.S. is recycled. Meanwhile, 55% of the 251 million tons of trash produced is
buried in landfills. One-quarter of all methane released into the air is a result of the trash
in the landfills. Liquid leaches out of the material that is not decomposing properly
because landfills are often sealed from air and water that would speed up the
decomposing process (Kulpinski). Humans make too much garbage for habits to continue
as they are. Imagine if everyone from a school or business recycled and composted as
much as they could while they were at work and at home--how much would be saved?
Recycling currently reduces the amount of carbon emissions by 49.7 million metric tons.
It takes 95% less energy to make a can from recycled materials than from new materials
(Kulpinski). If good practices are taught in enough schools then those students and
faculty members may develop habits that they pass on to others and utilise in other areas
of their lives.
Switching to reusable products can save money and produce less waste. For
example, it takes four gallons of water to create one gallon of bottled water. Its not just
bad for the Earth though. Every time a single serving-size bottle of water is purchased, it
costs around $7.50 a gallon- that is more than three-hundred times the cost of tap water
(Boesler). If students and teachers were encouraged to bring reusable containers for
water, schools could save the money that would go into buying bottled water.

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If disposable water bottles must be used, they should be recycled. In the U.S. alone,
85% of water bottles arent recycled. For every 150 bottles of water, switching to tap
water would save $225 (hearts.com). Water fountains are already in place in most
elementary schools, and water bottle-filling stations would be an attractive way to get
everyone to use refillable water bottles. Filling stations can be costly, however, and many
complain that tap water does not taste as good as water from water bottles. Filtration
systems could help with this issue.
Helping public schools convert to becoming more eco-friendly also encourages
STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math)-learning. Going green encourages
teaching biology and helps kids realize the importance of technology and engineering in
our society. STEM-learning is being stressed in order to keep up with international
education. Thinking about the future of the environment can be daunting, but it is
extremely necessary when considering the lives and future behaviors of humans towards
the earth.
As parents or community members, everyone should desire sustainable conduct,
and helping create these green habits from a young age will raise future awareness.
Endowments and initiatives to help schools become more energy and waste efficient will
help finance schools that have the drive to become green. PA Green and Healthy Schools
supports schools in Pennsylvania in becoming more eco-friendly. Seven Generations
Ahead wants to begin encouraging Zero-waste schools (WEEF). There are green grants
that fund schools in stormwater-management and fund permeable pavers, green roofs and
desire the use of rain gardens and infiltration fields. Funds can either reimburse the initial
costs to installing and using these green practices or technology, or they can fund the

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design of the green practices. Community foundations within the area have been known
to help schools finance initial costs of going green- the community foundation at Oak
Park Elementary helped fund their schools actions. Park Elementary received a
$9,875.00 grant from the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board (eeinwisconsin.org).
Some funding pushes for environmental education, which will become increasingly
important in the imminent environmental situation. There are funds for alternative clean
energy such as solar energy and wind energy: within our area there are grants from the
Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Community and
Economic Development helping to finance geothermal energy practices (dsireusa.org).
Schools that go green can become role models for other districts and receive
national recognition for their efforts. Many recognized green schools tend to have
better performance records (asumag.com). The Green Ribbon Award from the U.S.
Department of Education recognizes schools that bring down costs and environmental
impact. This nationally renowned award would allow schools to achieve attention and
credit across the country. Reducing costs is one of the major Pillars of schools to be
eligible to earn the Green Ribbon Award, once again showing that going green is healthy
for people, the earth, and taxpayers wallets.
Schools can lower costs by going green, and although doing so can be initially
expensive, the return on investment is well worth the expense. Public schools in
Pennsylvania, as well as in other states, have shown the possibilities that exist. Park
Forest Elementary of State College, Pennsylvania claims to have reduced the monthly
cost of disposal from $534 per month to $261 per month. Through composting programs,
such as the use of vermicompost bins (the use of worms fed with leftover food and

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compostable paper products), and recycling programs, schools can reduce waste by
incredible amounts. Six schools, including Oak Park Elementary in Illinois, claimed to
have a total saving amount of $26,000. The reduction of light usage and increased
recycling and compost are some of the most helpful ways to reduce costs.
Composting comes in a variety of forms. Vermicompost involves placing food
waste or compostable paper products (wax free) into a container with worms. It is one of
the fastest ways to compost. Schools can donate to local farmers that desire food waste
(not all food waste can go to this, for example, pigs cannot digest egg shells). Kids could
use the product to grow seeds of different plants and learn about responsibility and
agriculture.
In order to recycle more material, some of the schools used diversion techniques,
such as making garbage cans less accessible while making recycling bins larger. They
encouraged recycling with the use of reminder signs above the bins for kids and teachers
to recognize what can be recycled. Unicycler.com states that the rule of thumb is no
trashcan without a recycling and compost can next to it. Park Forest Elementary had
teams of students and teachers raising awareness by taking trips to the closest landfill in
order to understand all that is wasted every day. This school also had tables set up for
kids to see what objects can be recycled (pagreenschools,org). This exemplifies why
becoming green offers a learning advantage to those involved, while saving money for
the schools.
Many elementary schools, Choconut Valley and Lathrop Street included, perform
science experiments in which students learn basic biology while watching plants grow.
Teaching children how plants grow and interact in different life cycles and ecosystems is

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vital to science, particularly biology and chemistry. Using compost created by students
allows them to measure the quality of the soil, see how it affects the plant, and therefore
demonstrates exactly how what you leave on your plate or in the environment can
directly impact the wildlife around you. Learning about the chemical composition of
compost involves a mix of nitrogen-rich materials (vegetables, tea, coffee grounds, fruit,
egg shells) and carbon-rich materials (grass, wood, leaves) and ensures that the compost
will be rich in different materials for the plants to grow (unicycler.com). Imagine children
learning how certain food waste or salinity in water can make certain plants thrive.
Students could eat things they have grown themselves and learn to appreciate the benefits
of farming. Oak Park Elementary plans to eat the student-grown vegetables at a Harvest
Festival in the fall following the planting (OakPark.com). This opens up several
possibilities for plant usage, and if the children successfully grow crops, they could even
be sold to earn money for school supplies or for children in need.
Schools can also make a positive impact in their immediate surroundings. Park
Elementary of Wisconsin helped return the environment around the school to the
grasslands habitat it once was by studying the seeds and replanting the local prairie lands.
Park Forest Elementary in State College also participates in learning from and protecting
the local PFE Wetlands and considers this one of the schools initiatives (scads.org).
Schools can also become more conservative in their energy usage. Something as
simple as switching to more efficient lighting can save large amounts of energy. Not only
should we encourage keeping unnecessary lights turned off, but schools should also
switch all their light bulbs to those that are more energy-efficient. Teaching class
outdoors in the nicer weather months would allow students to receive the benefits of fresh

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air and explore the world around them, while also saving energy. It could be utilized as an
experience to grow plants and even teach or read books out loud (which already occurs in
most classrooms) while students are being productive in their self-made gardens. Park
Elementary in Wisconsin has a 9,000 square foot rain garden, with only fifty-one staff
members, proving it does not take a large team of students and employees to make a
considerable impact in the area around them.
Choconut Valley Elementary currently has an outdoor classroom that is not often
used. Planting gardens around the school and creating an outdoor area to learn and grow
would benefit both the students and faculty. Gardens could especially benefit those
without an opportunity to grow gardens themselves or play outside safely at home while
also encouraging the use of the outdoor classroom.
Green initiatives sound exciting and wonderful, but often they require people
willing to dedicate a lot of personal time. Teaching as a profession tends to be
underappreciated and this makes it difficult to ask for more time from teachers that are
involved in clubs and have to balance their family lives at home. Going green would
not only involve placing compost bins on the school ground, but would also include
reinventing a school in a greener image, which would take a huge amount of initiative. I
believe Montrose has the student drive and the faculty and staff support to apply for green
grants and make the school a better learning environment.
Many schools around the country have been so concerned with standardized tests
that they have forgotten these exams are meant to test knowledge. If we instill a love of
learning and apply that learning to real life, perhaps students performances on tests will
improve. Some of the green initiatives, such as gardening, could take time away from a

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traditional classroom setting, which would be especially challenging for teachers dealing
with students that have trouble focusing or do not behave well. It could also be a
challenge to implement this because it is easier not to do the extra work that comes with
going green. Working with adults who may not believe in recycling or have always
done something differently may make it harder to implement school-wide change,
especially considering state-wide standards of learning must be met; however, many of
the schools claim their performance has improved after implementing these changes. This
is one of the standards to receive a Green Ribbon Award (eeinwisconsin.org).
We are going to have to trust that the children of this generation will be able to
handle the world we are leaving for them. They must be able to function in a world in
which there will not be as many resources as there are today and growing food will be
more challenging. The world is constantly changing. Unless the next generation is better
equipped to handle this change than we are, what hope is there for the future? Imagine
instead of the wastelands predicted by dystopian films, a world well taken care of by
proud, involved citizens that devote themselves to the earth they have been given.

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