2011 Participating Schools
The 17th Wheelabrator Symposium for Environment and Education
The symposium is an annual event to expose students to environmental issues and problem solving. It will take place May 3 and 4 in Sunrise, Florida. Middle-school students representing New England, the Mid-Atlantic states and Florida commit to a six-month learning project, identifying an environmental challenge in their community and developing a long-term solution. Under the guidance of educators and Wheelabrator employees, students apply lessons learned in the classroom to real-life situations. At the center of the two-day event is a day of presentations on environmental problems followed by an awards banquet for the best ideas.
Calverton Elementary / Middle School, Baltimore, Maryland
Development of community garden at the school to improve the dietary habots of the members of the school community through availability of fresh produce. Includes an education program to teach elementary students about, gardening, diet and nutrition, and community outreach in mid-May after the symposium to share research and what students learned about developing gardens and the importance of eating fresh produce.
FDR Middle School, Bristol, Pennsylvania
Creating a natural wildlife prairie within the Wheelabrator Falls waste-to-energy facility’s open space and educating the community on creating backyard habitats to support natural pollinators vital to our ecosystems. Students researched the habitat, native flowers and grasses and natural pollinators supporting the local habitat and surveyed local residents, students and policy makers to determine what they already know about the importance of conserving habitat.
Federal Hill Preparatory School, Baltimore, Maryland
Expanding programs to reduce the community’s garbage footprint by making the school a community hub for recycling all kinds of batteries, and ink cartridges. Students organized two community fairs to promote composting, reuse and single-stream recycling through hands-on activities and persuasive information.
Green Street Academy, Baltimore, Maryland
Creating an educational campaign to educate the school community about lowering their carbon footprint. Students created an “Eco-Activist” e-newsletter and a series of educational videos for its television network and conducted a series of workshops on topics such as eating green and calculating your own carbon footprint. They also organized a “Green Small Business Symposium” to showcase the student businesses and also educate about how to start a green business and green business practices.
Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, Lakeland, Florida
A two-part health and wellness project. Students evaluated the many health and beauty products we use on our bodies every day. Students tested commonly used makeup that teens wear for mercury and carcinogens. They also developed a proposal for a medicine recycling program to reduce water supply contamination from improperly disposed medications.
Lisbon Central School, Lisbon, Connecticut
Making the school greener through improvements to the cafeteria recycling program, the development of composting for cafeteria food waste, the introduction of an alternative green cleaning method for cafeteria tables, and the development of a schoolwide environmental stewardship program that got everyone in the school involved in the work. Students also analyzed bus routes for maximum fuel efficiency and researched starting a roof garden to make the building more eco-friendly. Information programs such as a carnival and presentations helped increase awareness of environmental initiatives.
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McNicol Middle School, Hollywood, Florida
Students worked with a local environmental landscape architect to design a hummingbird habitat for Ruby Throated Hummingbirds which pass by the school on their migrations. Students included a pond with a solar powered water wheel to increase awareness of green energy.
Millbury Memorial Jr./Sr. High School, Millbury, Massachusetts
Designing a curriculum to expose elementary students to alternative energy sources such as wind, water and solar energy. Students created interactive activities for the curriculum to communicate alternative energy’s benefits to younger children.
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New River Middle School, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Partnering with Fabien Cousteau to implement restore the mangroves in South Florida. Students collected mangrove seedlings, brought them back to school to cultivate in the lab and in the spring we will plant them along a three-miles stretch of shoreline. They also started an aluminum can collection to earn money to purchase more plants.
Park City Magnet School, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Establishing the city’s only school-wide recycling program to reduce waste, conserve resources and teach about the economics of supply and demand. The program was supplemented with bottle and can drives, city clean-up days, and an “edible garden” program.
Peekskill Middle School, Peekskill, New York
Taking the product of the garden built as last year’s project and using it in the Family and Consumer Science classes to emphasize the importance of eating healthy and fresh foods. The goal is to teach that there are choices for snacks and foods.
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Sawgrass Springs Middle School, Coral Springs, Florida
Addressing poor indoor air quality due to the prevalent usage of electronic devices. This problem can cause health issues, including sleep deprivation. Students chose this topic because it is relevant to school and daily life, and is becoming more problematic with the advances in technology. Two solutions that we are experimenting with involve using air-conditioning filters and indoor plants to remove toxins in the air. Students are researching pollutants given off by technology, best tools to use for gathering air quality data, and what plants and filters are best suited to remove toxins from the air.
West Deptford Middle School, West Deptford, New Jersey
Refurbishing viewing stands at the nature trail and building bat houses at Wheelabrator Technologies’ Gloucester waste-to-energy facility in preparation of the release of quails this spring. Students held an assembly for third and fourth grade students to teach them about how butterflies, bees and bats work together to support a butterfly garden, which was last year’s team project.
Westglades Middle School, Parkland, Florida
Extending Westglades’ National Wildlife Federation-certified School Yard Habitat in conjunction with with the South Florida Audubon Society and the Institute of Wildlife Sciences. Students installed artificial burrows for two burrowing owls that visit the campus. Once there is an active burrow, they can be used by the teachers as an outdoor classroom for the students. Students will be able to watch, monitor and track the owl’s survivorship and learn about biology, environmental management and sustainability right on school grounds.
W.E. Waters Middle School, Portsmouth, Virginia
Restoring the oyster population in the Elizabeth River by raising oysters and placing them on an oyster reef sanctuary. These oysters are in a protected area and will help to clean the river; One 3 inch oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day. Students fill out data sheets document the salinity and temperature of the water, and mortality rate and measurements of the 100 oysters.
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