Make local elementary schools healthier and more sustainable
Just before schools locked down due to the pandemic, close to 400 4th grade students from 4 Title 1 elementary schools in Ventura County calculated the amount of waste produced at their school campus as part of the MERITO Foundation’s Blue-Green Schools project.
On average, they found that 50 to 80% of the waste in weight was edible foods, that 16-40% of the trash sent to landfills from their school could be recycled, and non-recyclable plastics such as Styrofoam lunch trays and/or packaged utensils could be replaced with compostable or recyclable alternatives.
For the past several months, many of these students have been working remotely to design methods to reduce their school's waste production, diverting it from landfills, and thus reducing greenhouse gases. In fact, their collective measures would reduce more than 30,000 pounds of plastic waste from school lunches every year and offset 27 tons of carbon dioxide annually just by composting food waste.
Please help make these students' school campus healthier and make their ideas a reality by sponsoring any of these needs:
Students at Sunkist Elementary School found that 4320 pounds of recyclables go into the trash at their school every year. They want to change that by making it easier for students to place recyclable materials in the correct place by using color-coded sorting bins inside and outside their cafeteria.
They need two sets of Rubbermaid BRUTE 32 Gallon
Cost per item: $100
Cost for 2 sets: $800
Montalvo Elementary students figured out that 30% of their schools' waste was compostable, which produced 28.116 pounds of organic waste every year. To reduce their school's organic waste and save 9 tons of carbon dioxide from going into our atmosphere, they need four sets of Subpod.com composting bundles. Each bundle includes a composting bin, worms, dirt + 9 planted trees on your behalf.
Cost per item: $193
Cost for 3 sets: $772
On average, 6075 lbs of recyclable plastic are disposed of at Berylwood Elementary in Simi Valley each year. To reduce plastic waste, students propose to install water-refilling stations, purchase reusable stainless steel water bottles with the school's logo, and make stickers with environmental messages and art made by themselves.
Help them buy 2 water refilling stations brand Elkay EXH20 LZS8WSKL.
Cost for per refilling station: $1,118
Cost for two refilling stations: $2,236
At McKinna Elementary School in Oxnard, students propose to replace the utilized Styrofoam plates which are inexpensive but non-recyclable for biodegradable plates. Styrofoam impacts marine habitats and wildlife, and it is believed to harmful to humans. Students from McKinna who were transferred to Lemonwood this fall, propose to replace the styrofoam plates for biodegradable trays such as EcoChoice 8” x 10” made of sugarcane at least 2 days/week,.
Cost per case of 400 EcoChoice trays: $40
Cost of 2 cases 3 days/week or 108 days/school year for 800 students: $8,640
Your donation directly impacts local youth’s education and experiences.
Support a local teacher to become better prepared to teach ocean and environmental science in their classroom for $150
Provide a teacher and their students with science equipment for a full school year for $100
Sponsor a student to visit the Channel Islands for the first time for $48
Sponsor a student to visit the beach to identify shorebirds and help clean a beach
for $25
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