Whether through hands-on sustainability projects, global collaborations, or creative recycling initiatives, our students and staff showed what it means to be stewards of the planet. Here’s a snapshot of how our schools celebrated Earth Day:
FFA Plant Sale
The Durango High School Future Farmers of America held a vibrant plant sale on April 19 at the Impact Career Innovation Center. Students raised funds for the FFA program and a future rooftop garden at Impact – featuring their own landscape designs. Watch the FFA Plant Sale video.
Film plastics & household battery recycling
Ron Reed, the district’s Manager of Custodial Services and Sustainability Committee Lead, has launched a new school-based recycling program for film plastics and household batteries. Film plastics include flexible materials like produce bags, sandwich bags, and shipping envelopes – items not accepted in single-stream recycling. Starting in May, families can bring these materials to school and place them in specially marked bins in school vestibules. Used household batteries should be given directly to each school’s day custodian.
Bridging Rivers, Connecting Worlds
“As young people, sustainability rests on our shoulders,” said Escalante Middle School student Daxtin Kunch on April 22. He and his classmates in Lu Boren’s Intro to Agriculture class, who are earning high school credits, presented videos about protecting the Colorado River during a live webinar. Students then engaged in a cross-continental Q&A with environmental experts in Durango and New Delhi, India. The event – Boren’s brainchild in partnership with the JDL Foundation – brought a global perspective to local conservation. “We participated in the program to learn more about the world, gain experiences that make us better global citizens, and step out of our comfort zones,” Kunch added.
Green Team highlights
Our student-led Green Teams sprang into action this spring with campus- and community-wide efforts to care for the Earth:
- Park Elementary School: Hosted a Bike Bus group ride to promote sustainable commuting. Watch the Bike Bus video.
- Durango High School: Participated in the Earth Day parade and hosted an activity booth at Buckley Park. They also teamed up with the City of Durango to plant trees near the Mason Center tennis courts. Watch the DHS Green Team tree planting video.
- Animas Valley Elementary: Held a plant sale featuring grow dome plants and launched a worm composting farm. Watch the AVE Green Team video.
- Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary: Highlighted their School to Farm Food Waste Diversion Program. Watch the FLM Green Team video.
- Escalante Middle School Green Team: Hosted an “Ice Cream for Green Team” taste test event to raise awareness about buying local products to reduce carbon emissions and support the local economy. (Thank you for the donation, Cream Bean Berry!)