The Green Team is proud to announce The Island School is now a Level 2 school in the Washington Green Schools program. In our second year (2010-2011), students, teachers and staff tackled the subject of energy efficiency. Students carried out a “power down” campaign that educated students and resulted in lower energy usage. Our school purchases green power from Puget Sound Energy. Students ran an environmental poster campaign and created winter bird feeders. New worm compost bins and a waste audit expanded our recycling and waste reduction programs from the 2009-2010 school year.
In our first year (2009-2010), we focused on waste reduction. Our school community significantly reduced its energy consumption and trash levels, and we shifted to more composting and recycling. From instituting a Pack-It-In/Pack-It-Out lunch policy to greening the Carnival, auditing our trash habits, reducing office paper use, cutting down on electricity consumption, creating school-wide education campaigns, and reducing car idling, we worked hard all year to become one of the first schools in Kitsap County to earn green certification.
A Washington Green Schools representative presented us with our Level 2 certification in September 2011. Since 2009, 170 schools have become active Washington Green Schools. The Island School is a leader in this program, being one of only nine schools statewide to reach and complete Level 2, and the first in Kitsap County.
We look forward with confidence and excitement as we continue this five-year process. There is much more to learn and do toward an even more environmentally aware and responsible way of life at The Island School. We are addressing water quality and conservation this school year.
For more information about the Washington Green Schools program, visit www.wagreenschools.org.
