CCES earns green kudos

AUGUST 18, 2011 11:05 a.m. (0)

Christ Church Episcopal School’s environmental program has garnered the Cavaliers the 2011 Protecting School of the Year award from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The award was given for the school’s work in protecting the environment at all three school levels – elementary, middle and high school.

Greenville County Schools’ Taylors Elementary was named the Restore school of the year for its programs dealing with recycling.

Other schools in Greenville County participating in DHEC’s Green Steps in Schools program are A.J. Whittenburg and Oakview Elementary.

Paulette Unger, who coordinates the program at the high school level at the Upper School Environmental Club, said Christ Church’s program is unique in that students start learning about environmental issues in grade school and continue the process to graduation.

What makes the DHEC program stand out from most environmental projects is the requirement for sustained effort, Unger said. In order to qualify, projects must be maintained for two full years.

Christ Church started their program just three years ago when the Environmental Club launched its drive to become a Green Steps School.

The Protecting School award recognizes the school-wide B2 Breathe Better anti idling program where students monitor idling activity during school drop-offs and pick-ups and the Upper School’s rain garden project where students built a 10-foot by 40-foot catch basin to filter out pollutants from a 1,000 square meter parking area.

The rain garden is designed to use natural techniques to reduce storm water pollution of the Reedy River.

It involved math and science clubs as well as students from the environmental club.

As the program grew at the upper and lower schools more faculty, parents and staff became involved. Cathy Foster, who has children in both schools, became particularly involved setting up the Earth Cavs pages on the school’s website.

Unger said she’d like to see Christ Church honored in all three categories of the DHEC program: conservation, protection and restoration.

“We have about 30 active and committed students in the Environmental Club,” she said. “Coupled with a steady feed of students from the lower and middle schools we can make it happen.”