Waste Reduction
About the Waste Reduction Grant
Bethel School District is fortunate to be supported by a waste reduction grant funded through the City of Eugene's Recycling and Solid Waste Department. This funding supports Love Food, Not Waste, a commercial food waste collection program in which all Bethel Schools participate. It also funds field trips and the development and teaching of reducing solid waste-related curriculum to K-12 students. Please contact Cathy Bechen, the waste reduction grant administrator if you have questions at cathy.bechen@bethel.k12.or.us.
Earth Day, Every Day
In honor of Earth Day, many students created artwork from recycled materials and posters, to remind others how to be a good citizen! These are daily reminders that we shouldn't just care about our Mother Earth on Earth Day, but instead, every day of the year. Treat her right!
Meadow View wins again!
Meadow View did it again. They collected the most electronic waste that was delivered to Next Step Recycling, in order to be repaired and sold at their Re-use store, or recycled properly. Meadow View students collected 3,564 pounds of waste! Collectively schools collected over 33,000 pounds (16.5 tons) of e-waste this year--that's twice the amount collected last year! Preventing electronic waste is one of the top things we can do to help our earth and community: it prevents toxics in our environment, recovers important materials that can be reused in new electronics, and provides volunteer and staff opportunities in our community. Thank you Next Step!!!
Green Teams are growing
As the year progresses, we continue to add Green Teacher Leaders to buildings. The latest leader is Joshua Daniels who is a teacher at Meadow View School. The group is just starting to get together to determine their goals and plans for the school. Shasta will add a leader next year, taking Bethel up to five schools, with the hope of eventually having a leader at every school! Having a leader in charge helps get kids excited and take ownership of what they would like to see happen in their school and in their community. There is so much to learn and so much good that can result from it. Thank you to our current leaders for forging ahead!!
Classroom Composting
Danebo's green team is teaching classes about composting. Each day, after students have a snack in their classroom, all of the extra food waste is put into a small bin. Then teams of students from the Green Team collect this waste and add it to the kitchen compost bin. Students are learning how simple this can be, not to mention how earth friendly it is!
Time to Lighten the Load
In the month of April, several schools in the district are taking part in an electronics recycling competition. The Lane County school that recycles the most pounds of “e-waste” will win! E-waste examples include things like microwaves, TVs, printers, old cords and cables, cell phones, computers, and audio/visual equipment. Please, NO PLASTIC, non-electronic items such as toys or vacuums. If an item is mostly metal, has a plug, or takes batteries, it counts!
You can find large bins in and around your child's school, or you can take your items straight to NextStep Recycling. Just make sure to give your school credit. Good luck! Let's free up some space in our landfill!
3rd Annual Shoe Drive
For the last three years, Prairie Mountain has been working with a company that sends our used shoes to Honduras and Haiti! This year Prairie Mountain Green Team students packed up over 25 boxes to send away to adults and children in need. Shoes take at least 40 years to decompose in our landfills. We can reduce that solid waste by giving your old shoes a new life! Thanks to everyone who donated!!
Cafeteria Composting Begins
Thanks to Prairie Mountain's Green Teacher Leader, Ms. Owens, middle schoolers have begun composting during Prairie Mountain's lunch. Student's leftover lunches are heading to Rexius to make compost as opposed to filling up a landfill. The middle schoolers have become very proficient at dumping their liquids, putting food in the "food only" bin, and throwing away what very little garbage is left. Good job PM!!!
Water Bottle Refilling stations installed
Thanks to the EWEB grant from the City of Eugene, water bottle refilling stations are beginning to get installed in all Bethel schools. Many students carry water bottles with them during the day, and this allows them to keep a full bottle, as well as negating the need for plastic, one-use, store bought water bottles. Throw away plastic bottles often end up in our streams and rivers or the landfill and do not decompose for hundreds of years. These stations are a welcomed addition for our students and Planet Earth!!
Students create artist trading cards
In honor of Earth Day, all 6th grade students had the opportunity to create Artist Trading Cards. These cards are similar to baseball trading cards in that they are 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches and can be traded with one another. All of these cards were made with free items from MECCA (Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts). MECCA is located in downtown Eugene, and many items are free to teachers. Students used old magazines, calendars, stickers, plastic etc to create their "Earth Day" themed cards. What a great way to re-use items, make beautiful art and keep items out of the landfill!
Prairie Mountain Green Team tackles cafeteria composting
With the help of Ms. Owens, Prairie Mountain's Green Team Leader, students are learning how to compost in the cafeteria! This only takes a second and it involves throwing all uneaten food of any kind, in one bucket, and everything else in the garbage. All of the uneaten food will be used to make garden compost, as opposed to going in the landfill. When thrown into a landfill, food waste produces a large amount of methane due to the lack of oxygen. As food rots and degrades, it emits these harmful gases which are 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide in terms of trapping heat in the atmosphere. This is why it is so essential to separate food, from garbage when throwing it away. Good job Prairie Mountain!!!
Composting Begins Again
Due to changes in the food preparation during Covid-19, many of our kitchens discontinued composting because the majority of food served had to be pre-packaged. Now that restrictions have lightened a little, all of our Bethel kitchens are back at kitchen composting. Royal Refuse delivered the necessary compost bins and cleaned others, giving everyone a fresh start. Congratulations to the Prairie Mountain kitchen staff who barely missed a beat as far as composting was concerned. Their staff received prizes in thanks for their dedication!
Making Tracks-Art Contest for 14-17
CALLING ALL ARTISTS AGES 14 to 17! Create a piece of art that welcomes athletes from around the world to the World Athletics Championships Oregon22! One winning art piece will be selected to be enlarged and printed as the backdrop of a photo station where athletes can take photos. The winner will also recieve 4 tickets to the evening session on Day 1 of competition. Contest open January 27, 2022 9AM PST through February 28, 2022 9AM PST
Click on the link below for more detailed information.
Published October 28, 2021 | By Cathy Bechen
First graders in Bethel are becoming great at re-using. In October, all students were given a reusable water bottle and challenged to use it at school for the entire year. They learned about the importance of re-use and were also challenged to make items at home with materials headed for the trash. They are on their way to being better stewards of the earth!
Published September 23, 2021 | By Cathy Bechen
Are you one that loves our planet and wants to teach your students how to keep it green, but can’t find the time to squeeze it in? Now is your chance to become your school’s green teacher leader! Applications are now being accepted for anyone interested in beginning an after school or lunch club, focusing on all things “green”. You might start a school garden, create a cafeteria composting program, host a plastic recycling day; these are just a few ideas to get you thinking, but the goal of your club can be designed by you and your students.
Look for the posting in your building and apply today!!