GreenWorks! Great Ideas

• In Homer, Alaska, kindergarteners through 12th graders set up a recycling program at their school to collect materials from the village's 350 residents. Due to the school's remote location, collected materials are transported 30 miles each week to reach the Homer Baling Facility. Project partners: Homer Spit Campground, Ulmers Drugs and Hardware, Fritz Creek General Store, Home Run Oil, Homer Chapter of Alaska Youth for Environmental Action, Kachemak Bay Conservation Society, Voznesenka Parent Advisory Council.



• In Selma, Alabama, 5th graders and gifted students became active participants in assisting Forest Service fire personnel in implementing and managing prescribed burns at Talladega National Forest. To determine when prescribed burns would be most favorable, students provided daily weather data to a dispatcher at the US Forest Service. The students' findings were included in US Forest Service press releases. Project partners: Talladega National Forest.



• High school environmental science, physics, and calculus students in Washington, DC turned garbage found in the Potomac River Watershed into a "Green-Skate Laboratory." Designed by physics students, this laboratory is used as a physics classroom and community recreation site. Project partners: East Coast Round Wall, Ramptech, Inc, and Skateboard Community.



• Fifth grade students in Meridian, Mississippi joined forces with marketing professionals, industries, government agencies, and Mississippi State University to educate the public about the need for timber reforestation through various forms of media.



• An after school program for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 in Raleigh, North Carolina carried out three projects during the course of the year. First, students grew food in the school garden to donate to the North Carolina Food Bank. Second, students implemented a community recycling and hazardous waste collection program at their school. Third, students prepared educational activities for nearby elementary school students. Their actions benefited students, schools, and the community. Project partners: North Carolina Food Bank.



• Elementary school students in Cavalier, North Dakota, created a tree-windbreak to lessen farmland erosion and pollution resulting from wind and snowdrifts. The trees also provided protection to businesses and roads on the outskirts of Cavalier and added beauty to an underdeveloped area. Project partners include: Neche Greenhouse and numerous city employees and community members.



• Students 7 through 13 years of age grew flowers at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, New Jersey. The students arranged the flowers and donated them to a local nursing home. Students simultaneously learned about gardening, floriculture, flower arrangement, and brought pleasure to local residents. Project partners: Friends of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morris County Park Commission, Morrisview Nursing Home, and Morristown Garden Club.



• Middle and high school students from three schools in Bonita, East Lake, and Rancho del Rey, California re-established native vegetation on their school grounds and a preserve. Native trees, shrubs, and grasses were planted after introduced species were removed. The students then created a newsletter, video, and CD-ROM to educate parents, students, residents, news media, and the local government about the importance of native species. Project partners: Girl Scouts of America, San Diego County Department of Parks and Recreation, San Diego State University, Sweetwater Union High School District, and Kniffing's Discount Nurseries.



• Various natural science classes at the University of Cebu in the Philippines held a tree festival and tree planting event to demonstrate the importance of trees and biodiversity. Project partners: University of Cebu: Community Extension Services Office, Chemistry Society, and natural, biological, and physical science departments.