May 6, 2011
The Kansas Green Schools Program announced that two schools with innovative approaches to curriculum and student involvement are recipients of the Koch Green Schools Grants. The schools, Prairie Elementary in the Shawnee Mission School District and Reno Valley Middle School in the Nickerson-South Hutchinson School District, will each receive approximately $2,500 in grant funds. A total of $5,000 in competitive grants was available. The grants are intended to encourage schools to develop creative, innovative, effective environmental projects which improve the environment; make schools a healthier place to learn, play, and work; and save money through reduced use of natural resources.
Prairie Elementary School’s grant project will create a student-run Garden Market, install an irrigation system, and plant buffalo grass and perennials to conserve water use in the garden. Reno Valley Middle School will launch the “Green Initiative in Life Science” project involving both the middle and high schools in hands-on field labs using science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experiences.
More information is available at kansasgreenschools.org, or by contacting Shari L. Wilson at swilson@kacee.org or 913-287-6879.
The Kansas Green Schools Program combines grants, workshop opportunities for teachers, and technical support for schools to “green” their buildings and grounds and tie the projects to classroom curriculum. The program is a joint effort by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Corporation Commission’s State Energy Office, Staples Foundation for Learning, and Koch Industries, Inc. More information is available at http://www.kansasgreenschools.org.