13 Traverse Bay Area Schools achieve Michigan Green School Status
TRAVERSE CITY -- Several schools in the five-county region are helping teach children that green is not just a color, but a way of looking at how we live.
Students from 13 schools across the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District have committed to various green practices this academic year and have earned official Green Certification from the state through the Michigan Green Schools Program.
More than 600 schools participated in the Michigan Green Schools program. More than a dozen are from the Traverse Bay region including: Benzie Platte River Elementary, Elk Rapids Cherryland Middle School, Kalkaska Rapid City Elementary, Kalkaska High School, Pathfinder School, The Children's House; and TCAPS Eastern Elementary, Montessori at Glenn Loomis, Willow Hill Elementary, Silver Lake Elementary, East Middle School, West Middle School, and West Senior High School.
Earning Green Certification takes planning and support, not only from school staff and students, but families and the community at large.
Designation is based on a point system centered on educational environmental activities for students pre-kindergarten through senior high school. Schools are encouraged to earn a minimum of 10 out of 20 points annually through activities in four categories: Reduce/Reuse/Recycle renewable resources, Energy conservation, the environment, and miscellaneous projects. At least two activities within each of the four categories are required to meet Green Certification requirements.
Three schools achieved the new "Emerald" designation for meeting 15 points: Kalkaska high School, TCAPS West Middle School, and Willow Hill Elementary; and three schools achieved "Evergreen" designation for meeting all 20 points: The Children's House, Elk Rapids Cherryland Middle School, and The Pathfinder School.
We would like to know, does your family recycle? Tell us "Your Point of View" by voting in the poll below and leave your comments.
