The Verdict is In!

Christmas of 2010 was when the Green Team realized that the HS had a problem. We conducted a waste audit where we weighed and documented all of the waste that was going into our dumpsters. We concluded that there was too much recyclable waste being disposed of improperly. So that's when we amplified our paper recycling collection, started to recycle cardboard, magazines, catalogs, glass and plastic containers of all sorts. In addition, we started to compost our cafeteria's food waste. We collect, mass, and mix 100% of our lunchroom waste and compost it to make our 'home grown top soil' that we have since used to plant lots of flowers and our community garden. This last semester we made sure we took meticulous data and the graph below tells us that we are wasting a huge amount of food during our lunch periods.

Spring of 2011 Data

                                        

Windrows created from mixing food waste, manure, leaves/grass, paper, and saw dust

 

 

If you would like to know more, or have any ideas on how we could curb our waste in the cafeteria, please let us know by commenting here, or by emailing us at ejshsgreenteam@yahoo.com.

Green Team Outdoor Classroom has just added a Community Garden!

Over the last few weeks, the EJSHS Green Team has been working exceptionally hard to bring the community of Eureka their own public garden! The garden is located on the west side of the Marshall Elementary building. It has four equal sized plots that are 10'x30'. Even though it is 1,200sq ft, we started small to ensure the success of our garden. The Green Team would like to say thank you to some very important individuals for making this a reality: Lisa Moots, owner/operator of the Eureka Greenhouses with her husband Eric for supplying the garden with wonderful plants! Also to Roy Wade for volunteering to come out and till for us! And finally, the faculty and administrators with USD 389 for their cooperation, flexibility, and support during this process.

If you would like to become a member of the community garden planning organization please email us at ejshsgreenteam@yahoo.com with your name, occupation, and the capacity with which you'd like to help. We are currently looking for people of all ages to participate in 'Making This Garden Grow!' We will be setting up meeting times to discuss ground rules, hours, shifts, and much more!

In addition, if you would like to learn more about vermicomposting or the lunch room waste composting that is going on as well, please email us!