Grand Rapids and Ottawa County schools were selected as the winners of the 2022 Environmental Service Award competition.
The Michigan departments of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Natural Resources, and Agriculture (DNR) sponsor the contest. It is also paired with an Earth Day poster contest for middle and senior schools.
Schools and teachers nominate students or groups to be recognized when they complete an environment-based, school-approved project that yielded tangible results. The project must be beneficial to plants, wildlife, or ecosystems that are native to Michigan. Schools must confirm the validity of each project.
The Ottawa Area Intermediate School District’s Careerline Tech Center School and West Side Christian School in Grand Rapids were the winners this year.
Careerline Tech Center School in Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
Juniors and seniors in Careerline Tech Center’s Environmental Field Studies program created a project after doing a study about plastic pollution on Ottawa County beaches. The students collected samples of plastic pollution from six beaches and went to six lakes.
They concluded that microplastics and single-use polymers were the main contaminants after analyzing their data. The Outdoor Discovery Center, Allegan Conservation District and Ottawa County Parks and Recreation joined forces to mentor students in the search for solutions to problematic plastic. Inspired by the experience of cleaning beaches, students created and installed recycling units called Beach Buddy stations to recycle plastics at four locations. Students received grants from the EPA Trash Free Waters program and the Inland Seas Education Association’s Great Lakes Watershed Field Course program. Students can use the grants to construct and install Beach Buddy Stations.
The project helps to:
- Educate the public on plastic pollution
- Encourage citizens to clean up the lakeshore
- Recycle plastic materials
- Keep plastic out of the lakes
The students’ research project was showcased in a local newspaper, the Holland Sentinel.
Grand Rapids West Side Christian School
Students from grades 6-8 at West Side Christian Middle School Creation Care, (Green Team), are volunteers who work together to improve sustainable practices through advocacy and awareness. The group was established five years ago.
Each year, new students take the lead to set schoolwide goals to improve the school community’s recycling efforts, which features a school-wide uniform recycling sort system, with colored-coded containers in each classroom. Students noticed that organic material (banana cores, banana peels, etc.) was getting thrown away. from lunches eaten in students’ classrooms ended up in the trash bin. They wanted to make compost to use in the school’s garden and put food waste to good uses. 
Students started a school-wide composting project in Spring 2021. They collaborated with the school administration and the facility manager to find project methods and set up a collection system and composting area.
The project supports:
- Reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfills.
- Make compost that can be used in school gardens.
- Teach life- and social skills.
- To enhance inclusivity, all students participate in the project together, including students with special needs.
Captions:
Careerline Tech Center School students collect data at an Ottawa County beach on microplastics
Students from West Side Christian Middle School Creation Care collection food waste for composting.
