Will Groves, 6th grade teacher, LaSalle Academy in South Bend Two years ago, sixth-grade math and science teacher Will Groves created the ECO Team at LaSalle Academy in South Bend. The ECO Team is mainly made up of Groves’ homeroom students but, in time, they hope to expand the team to all 849 students in the school. “This is a very active, growing group of students,” said Groves. The ECO Team members are responsible for collecting all the recyclables. “Our job as Eco-recyclers is to go and pick up all classroom bins every Friday,” said Lauren Hall, team member. “We then take them into a bigger bin, and then eventually they get taken outside to a big recycling dumpster,” added Paige Barnes and Kaylin Chandler. According to ECO Team members Jean Birdsall, Josh Thomas and Ashley Shepley, the team is also in the process of eliminating all Styrofoam from school. They are getting new trays for lunch with compartments for food, instead of using paper bowls. In the morning and at lunch, they have a group of students who monitor what is being thrown away to ensure that all recyclable materials are put in the recycling bins. The students said they are excited about the program and especially about working with Groves. “Mr. Groves is a very encouraging teacher to the Eco-recyclers,” said Emily Polkowski. “He tells us exactly what, and where to put things. He is also kind and not strict when he tells us what to do. Mr. Groves is an excellent teacher for recycling.” Team members admitted that not only are they having a good time, but have learned a lot in the process. “We are a small part of a big picture to help the environment,” said Scott King. Groves said that he and some of the students are taking the program one step further and are looking to see how they might be able to add hybrid-electric powered buses to their school’s fleet.

Click photos for larger versions LaSalle LaSalle LaSalle LaSalle   Is your school already participating in green activities? We want to know about it. Please contact Lynelle Miller at lamiller@doe.in.gov to pass on your innovative classroom and project ideas as well as share photos.