Current Projects
Here are some of the projects we are currently working on.
Sustainable Jersey for Schools Certification
At the end of this year, our bronze certification for this program expires. We pursued several actions with the MHS Green Team, and hope to become recertified by the end of the school year.
Among other projects submitted, we also illustrated our Anti-idling Initiative (see below).
Anti-idling Initiative
Idling adds carbon monoxide and particulate matter into the air which negatively impacts respiratory and cardiovascular health. It also release nitrogen oxides and VOC (volatile organic compounds) which are precursor to ground-level ozone, also a harmful respiratory irritant. Idling for more than three minutes is ILLEGAL. Students are gathering data, educating the community, and enforcing the rules on our campus to protect the health of students and staff at MHS.
Plastic ban ordinance in Metuchen
The Metuchen High School Sustainability Initiative is looking to make a positive impact on our environment by asking the Borough Council to ban single-use plastic bags and plastic drinking straws across all businesses within the town limits. Single-use plastic bags and plastic drinking straws contribute to the overabundance of harmful microplastics in our seawater and drinking water. We are asking for support from the Metuchen Community to sign a petition and help us reduce the amount of unnecessary plastic waste produced in our town. Click here to sign the petition!
Rain gardens, also called bioretention facilities, is a green infrastructure designed to collect surface runoff, so that it has a chance to infiltrate naturally. It helps to reduce stormwater runoff, which pollute surface waters such as streams, lakes and ultimately the ocean, and it also helps to recharge groundwater.
Two rain gardens were built on MHS in the summer of 2020.
The Air Quality Index is a guide for reporting daily air quality. It uses colors and numbers to show how clean or polluted the air is. The Flag Program uses brightly colored flags based on the U.S. EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI) to notify people and their communities about outdoor air quality conditions. Metuchen High School will raise a flag each day that corresponds to their local air quality forecast. The flags can be seen on the flag pole in front of the school or on a widget on the high school webpage.
The MHS Environmental Club converted the old vegetable garden into a wildlife garden, which is currently maintained on an annual basis by the organization.