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The Burbank Unified School District (USD) is located in northern Los Angeles
County and serves the City of Burbank. John Muir Middle School and John
Burroughs High School actively participated in the Environmental Ambassador Pilot
Program (EAPP). Burbank USD was selected as an Environmental Ambassador because
of its strong track record in recycling. Much of the district’s strength lies in
its partnership with Burbank’s Public Works Department and the city-operated
Burbank Recycle Center. The city provides free recycling collection at all
school sites. The city works with the district to encourage innovative waste
diversion programs at the school sites and provides outreach and education to
students.
On environmental education matters, the district also partners with local
organizations, including the
California Regional Environmental Education
Community Network (CREEC-LA),
TreePeople, the
County’s Generation Earth program,
the
Burbank Water Reclamation Plant, and
Warner Bros. Studios. The district
planned to use its existing connections with local resource providers and State
agencies to fully develop its status as a model Environmental Ambassador.
Burbank USD’s education-related achievements during the
EAPP grant period included:
- Having Burbank USD’s education programs in the EAPP complement and
leverage Learn and Serve grant funding provided by the California Department
of Education for CalServe, a multi-year, service-learning development
program that supports the district’s requirement for students to complete a
service-learning project during middle/high school as a condition of
graduation.
- Developing curricular units and lessons across most subject areas for
grades 6–12, with a focus on resource conservation as well as campus
recycling and composting activities.
- Combining Cesar Chavez grant funding with the EAPP funds and support
from Warner Bros. Studios and the
Burbank Recycle Center to develop
garden-centered learning that includes composting, classroom vermicomposting,
and Bokashi (compost by fermentation) in the teacher’s lounge and some
classrooms.
All teachers, administrators and community partners agreed that the common
planning time afforded by the teacher stipends by the grant program was very
valuable, both in planning educational support and diversion, garden activities.
All agreed that sustaining common planning time without grant funds would be
unrealistic, thereby challenging continued collaboration. Most or all teachers
did not have planning time outside their departments to promote collaboration
across subject areas.
One other obstacle is that most participating teachers did not have students
in common. Additionally, the added workload discouraged many teachers from
joining the team.
The Burbank USD team proved that student-driven programs to
recycle on campus can be effective, if organized properly. This requires:
- Convenience-–a recycling container next to every trash can, with many
locations around campus;
- Motivation-–students collecting the recycling are members of clubs which
benefit from the proceeds;
- Campus “culture” that promotes pride in conservation; and
- Infrastructure to provide pickup and delivery of materials collected to
a recycling center.
The City of Burbank Recycle Center is attempting to overcome the annual
back-to-school learning curve for school recycling. They produce a newsletter
for the schools called “School Recycling News.”
In fall 2006, the Recycle Center held two after-school workshops as a
recycling “refresher course” for teachers and administrators. Food and
information was provided.
The Burbank USD has also established a Service Learning Committee, in an
effort to establish better ties to the community where projects would be
conducted, as well as resolve program issues and formulate policies for district
consideration. The committee is a large group which meets several times each
school year.
Burbank USD’s diversion-related achievements during the
EAPP grant period included:
- Adopting a resolution on sustainability and resource efficiency
(Adobe PDF, 205 KB) in the
design and construction of district projects. This resolution stipulated the
district would incorporate criteria established by the Collaborative for
High Performance Schools (CHPS) in construction projects when feasible.
- Continuing collaborative work with the city-operated Burbank Recycle
Center to accommodate the district’s increased recycling needs. The city
provides free recycling collection to the district.
- Implementing a paper recycling program in all classrooms, thereby
greatly increasing the amount of paper recycling. Most campus recycling
programs are student-run, resulting in minimal impact on custodial staff.
- Increasing recycling of cans, bottles, paper, batteries, and ink
cartridges within the district, and the number of on-site school gardens.
- Burbank USD purchased a mulching lawn mower with grant funds. This
equipment has been documented to save time and create efficiencies for the
maintenance staff.
- A beverage container recycling program at the John Muir Middle School
and the John Burroughs High School that resulted in a revenue increase of at
least $2,500 per year at each school.
- Recycling electronic waste material.
- Implementation of several changes in resource management practices that
may not have resulted in quantifiable waste reduction, but are nevertheless
just as important for resource conservation, such as purchase and use of
steam-based equipment for pest management.
Lessons created by the teams tied to the EAPP program as well as to the
CalServe Learn and Serve program. This blending provided a way for teachers to
create standards-based lessons for their subject areas which addressed waste
management and conservation, while giving the students opportunity to engage in
service learning. The lessons included here include elective courses offered by
the two schools, in addition to core subject areas.
A notable lesson was the eighth grade science lesson, where students investigated the
properties of household batteries and the potential health hazards from improper
disposal. These students were so motivated by the lessons that they implemented
a campus-wide household battery collection program. The effort included posters,
a brochure, and organized collection efforts.
CIWMB Office of Education and the
Environment
k12edu@ciwmb.ca.gov
(916) 341-6769 |
CIWMB Office of Local Assistance
dplaola@ciwmb.ca.gov
(916) 341-6199 |
Burbank USD Resource Lead
Sue Boegh
Director
(818) 729-4401 |
Burbank USD Education Lead
Claudene Bell
Service-learning Coordinator
(818) 558-4687 |
Burbank USD Resource Conservation Manager
John Luoma
(818) 558-5497 |
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