By Paula Tarnapol Whitacre

More than 600 schools nationwide have registered to become part of Project Learning Tree’s (PLT) GreenSchools! service-learning program. Lowcountry Prep, a K-12 school in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, is an example of how a school can use PLT’s GreenSchools! Investigations to benefit student learning, the environment, and a school’s bottom line.

Lowcountry teachers have used PLT since 2008. In the 2009-2010 school year, the school was selected as one of 60 nationwide to receive a grant from Learn and Serve America to participate in PLT’s GreenSchools! program. As part of the grant, three teachers and seven middle school students attended a workshop where they leaned how to conduct school-wide investigations in the five GreenSchools! topic areas: energy, water, school site, waste and recycling, and environmental quality. They learned how to use light meters, thermometers, scales, and other tools to collect data on which to base decisions for future environmental action. In this way, students are learning to use their knowledge and skills from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses to address challenges at their school.

Back at school, the students formed teams, containing two to four students each, and conducted their research once a week for six weeks. “It was fun to collect data,” recalled ninth-grader Elizabeth Zieser-Misenheimer. “When we went into classrooms to measure and weigh, other teachers and students would ask us about what we were doing, so that helped build interest.”

At the end of the last school year, the students shared their findings with the school’s board of trustees, along with recommended actions for the 2010-2011 school year. With solid data and a well-prepared presentation, they were met with excitement and unopposed support for their work.

“We, as students, are the ones who are affected by changes in our schools,” said Zieser-Misenheimer. “Expressing our opinions on what happens at our schools helps us learn to make decisions, keeps us devoted to being green, and gives us satisfaction in environmental achievements. It is a privilege for students to be given this opportunity of being taken seriously by adults.”

Plans
Now the teams meet once a week to plan and carry out service-learning activities based on last year’s investigations. Their plans include—

• Replacing light bulbs with lower-wattage CFLs (a savings of about $4,000 per year)
• Installing “shut down and boot” timers for computers not in use (after determining that leaving the computers on, even in sleep mode, costs $216 per computer per year)
• Setting up a recycling program for paper, plastic, and aluminum, after a “greenest grade” contest helped generate interest
• Setting up other contests that engage the entire school, especially students in lower grades
• Sharing information about the research they have done and what they have learned from it with the community

Benefits
“This program gives the school tools to make decisions, and gives kids a sense of purpose and worthwhile achievement,” said Sandy Gresham, who helped bring PLT to Lowcountry, where she taught until retiring in 2010. She also noted that the GreenSchools! program, combined with other PLT activities, contributed to a rise in school science scores. On the financial side, the teams will monitor the cost savings this year, using last year’s investigations as their baseline for comparison.

In looking back at what the teams accomplished last year, student Stellings Lee said she and her classmates felt most proud of how much data they collected, how many students were involved, and how excited the whole school has become.

Next year, the students at Lowcountry will present their story at the National Youth Leadership Council’s conference to be held in Atlanta in March. This National Service-Learning Conference draws nearly 3,000 attendees from around the world for three intensive days of speakers, workshops, and networking. 

Advice
The Branch also spoke with science teacher Michelle Neubauer and English teacher Shannon Lewis, who, along with Gresham, helped get the GreenSchools!  program up and running, as well as with ninth- and tenth-graders Maddy Gates, Eric Patota, Shan Deeter, Leldon McClary, Chloe Grabeman, and Verneisha Smith, in addition to Lee and Zieser-Misenheimer.

The teachers passed on this advice to other teachers considering involvement in PLT’s GreenSchools! program:

• Make the investigations part of class
• Learn how to use the equipment to feel comfortable with it
• Connect with theater or English, rather than keeping the program just within the science curriculum

“Kids are involved in hands-on learning and doing their own research,” said Neubauer. “They really learn, and are excited about learning, in this program.”

The students passed along the following advice to other students:

• Think creatively
• Involve the entire school
• Focus on the areas that need the most improvement.

To Learn More
Service-learning is a teaching method that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities through a process that is carefully integrated with learning objectives. It emphasizes critical thinking and problem solving, tackles challenges such as the environment and sustainability, and values people of all ages as having talents to offer.

Read case studies and register to participate in the PLT GreenSchools! service-learning program at www.pltgreenschools.org. Funding for PLT’s GreenSchools! program is provided in part by the Corporation for National & Community Service through Learn and Serve America, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre writes on environmental, education, and health topics. Her website is at www.fullcircle.org.