In recognition of National Recycling Day, recognized annually on Nov. 15, students from Alliance Academy of Cincinnati are doing their part to build a sustainable future by being part of the school’s Green Team. Throughout the year, members of the Green Team learn to apply sustainability practices, such as weekly recycling, to create a life-long habit of green living and to prepare for 21st-century careers.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently found that Americans on average produce 4.48 pounds of waste per person, per day, equating to a total of 262.4 million tons in just one year. Alliance Academy of Cincinnati is combating this dilemma by encouraging its Green Team members to recycle and learn sustainable practices early-on.
Now in its third year, Alliance’s Green Team includes a group of eight students who are passionate about the environment. The group was formed after members of the staff came up with the concept and created a plan to include it in the school’s culture.
“Every Wednesday all offices and classrooms place their recycling bins outside of their door for the Green Team to come around and collect,” said Mercedes Carr, computer technology teacher at Alliance Academy. “Being part of the Green Team allows our students the chance to exhibit being a Green School.”
Green Schools, through the Center for Green Schools, are schools that create a healthy environment conducive to learning, while saving energy, environmental resources, and money.
The benefits of being a member of Alliance’s Green Team go well beyond establishing sustainability-related skills. Students also learn the importance of being part of a team and begin to grasp skills that are desirable for the workforce.
“Being on the Green Team gives the students an opportunity to have an internal school job, which provides them with basic job skills such as time management, discipline, responsibility, and much more,” said Carr.
Students will continue their recycling efforts throughout the year and will appoint new members of the Green Team who will continue this work moving forward.
Watch Channel 9 tell the Green Team’s story.
About Alliance Academy of Cincinnati
Alliance Academy of Cincinnati is a tuition-free, public charter school in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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