WFS
Structure
Much time and thought
has gone into the design and structure of the WFS.
The following components are fundamental to the program
and are crucial to its successful functioning and end
results.
Program Collaboration
Ecology Action, Life Lab Science Program and the Santa
Cruz County Office of Education collaborate extensively
to run and manage the WFS. While there is some overlap
and a lot of communication, each program partner has
its own specific focus and role. |
Capitola Elementary Students
add to
the
school worm composting
bins.
|
Ecology Action:
Ecology Action’s role in the WFS is to provide technical
assistance for schools in establishing functioning waste reduction
systems on campus. Ecology Action staff provides necessary infrastructure
such as recycling bins, composting worms, labels, and reusable
lunch trays, ensures communication between key players who may
include teachers, principals, custodians and cafeteria staff,
works with waste haulers to make sure existing services are
appropriate for the garbage and recycling situation, and continually
evaluates current systems in order to give critical feedback
necessary for improvement and expansion.
Life Lab Science Program:
Life Lab Science Program’s role in the WFS
is to increase resource conservation related education to
students at participating schools and to provide continuing
education for WFS lead teachers. Life Lab Science Program
staff makes a wide variety of resource conservation curriculum
materials available to teachers, gives in-classroom presentations
to students of all grade levels on many resource conservation
topics, and puts on three to five teacher trainings each year.
Santa Cruz County Office
of Education: The county coordinates WFS school and Site Leader recruitment, coordinates school district and school agreements, authors the program's annual report documenting the annual scope of work plus recommendations for the following year, and collaborates with the WFS partners on ongoing communication regarding the the programs overall effectiveness toward the institutionalization of waste reduction practices and natural resource conservation education countywide.
New Brighton Middle School
lead teacher and students observe and assess.
Site Leaders
One to three teachers at each school are designated to be
the leaders of the WFS at their school. The lead teachers
sign a contract stating the roles and responsibilities that
they are committing to for the school year. Roles and responsibilities
include attendance at regularly scheduled on-campus meetings
with WFS staff, consistent communication with fellow staff
regarding WFS on campus, follow through on established tasks,
set up, maintenance and improvement of recycling, composting,
reducing/reusing systems, participation in WFS teacher trainings,
and use of environmental education curriculum in their classrooms.
Teachers receive a stipend and an opportunity to earn continuing
education units in return for their commitment.
Waste
Reduction Systems
The program is built around the set
up, maintenance, and improvement of paper, cardboard
and mixed container recycling, food composting, and
a wide variety of reuse and reduce systems.
Examples of reuse and reduce systems are
switching from disposable lunch trays to reusable ones,
teaching kids to pack lunches in reusable containers
instead of disposable ones, placing paper reuse trays
in every classroom and teacher work rooms, reducing
the amount of junk mail received each day, cutting back
unnecessary newspaper subscriptions, and allowing students
to take only the food they want to eat rather than making
them take everything. |
Live Oak Elementary student
shows
us how to pack a zero waste lunch |
Waste Diversion Assessment
Ecology Action staff conducts waste assessments for each participating
school at the beginning of every school year. A waste assessment
examines and estimates the types and quantities of materials
going into the garbage dumpsters and recycling bins on campus.
A follow up waste assessment is also done at the end of each
school year. The beginning of the year and the end of the
year information is entered into Ecology Action’s copyrighted
WasteNot
software which uses the information to calculate each school’s
annual waste diversion in tons and cubic yards as well as
each school’s total cost savings. Please click on the
link above to explore the WasteNot software and download a
temporary version.
Teacher Trainings
Each year, Life Lab Science Program staff puts on two to three trainings specifically designed for the WFS lead teachers.
These trainings are used to motivate and encourage lead teachers
to continue with their efforts, give lead teachers time to
share experiences and ideas with one another, allow WFS
staff to present new resources and information to the lead
teachers, and to show appreciation to the lead teachers for
their dedication to the program and resource conservation.
Lead teachers attend the WFS beginning
of the year Fall Institute
Community Outreach Events
The students of participating schools, under teacher supervision,
are required to put on one event that spreads the resource
conservation message to the greater school community each
year. Schools have met this requirement of the program in
creative, exciting and effective ways. Examples of past community
outreach events include students performing a play for parents
about protecting Mother Earth and her resources, students
putting on a vermicomposting workshop for parents, students
creating a website about recycling, composting, and reducing
waste at their school and in general, students and parents
participating in a low waste lunch picnic, and students putting
together and presenting a power point presentation about resource
conservation at their school and in general.
< top of page
Students at Natural Bridges Elementary
show off the website they created for their community outreach
event.
|
