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Located in rural Siskiyou County,
Etna Union Elementary School
District is a tightly knit two-school district that encompasses kindergarten
through eighth grade. With a population of 800 people, the community of Etna is
actively involved in school activities and has been supportive of conservation
and outdoor education programs. In 2003, the community helped to establish a
two-acre outdoor education center across the street from the school site, where
students experience gardening activities and riparian restoration work. Prior to
receiving the UES grant, the district recycled paper, cardboard, and aluminum,
and had an energy conservation program.
During the first year of the UES grant, Etna Elementary School conducted a
waste audit that identified the cafeteria as a major source of the school’s
waste stream. Specifically, the students were disposing of a significant amount
of the food they were served. Consequently, the school investigated “offer
versus serve” programs and is now implementing a salad bar program where
students can make their own choices regarding food and size of servings.
A team of four teachers created lessons that focus on the
diversion programs described in the “Diversion Successes” section of this Web
page. These lessons also served as the context for standards-based learning.
Because Etna is such a small school, the programs were implemented in all
grades, as follows:
- Seventh- and eighth-grade students educated younger students about the
results of the waste audit and provided instruction on the classroom
recycling program.
- The science lab, which serves all grade levels, used composting and
vermicomposting to teach about decomposition and food webs.
- Students learned how compost contributes to sound gardening practices.
As part of a service-learning project, students donated fruits and
vegetables grown in the outdoor learning center to needy members of the
community.
- Students learned how food packaging and their choices in the school
cafeteria contribute to the school’s waste stream.
- The sense of community in Etna extends into the school as older students
mentor younger schoolmates. Older students at Etna Elementary gained
valuable leadership experience by making classroom presentations to younger
students. In addition, they collected recyclables weekly from all of the
school’s classrooms and delivered them to the nearby drop-off recycling
center. Service-learning was a key aspect of the Etna UES grant.
- The small size of Etna offered opportunities in addition to challenges.
Everyplace in Etna is within walking distance of the school. This allowed
students to load recyclables on carts and walk a short block to the
recycling center across the street from the grocery store. This also made
the students’ efforts highly visible in the community.
- Living in a remote community frequently presents problems with markets
for recyclables. One of the Etna teachers was able to persuade the driver of
the recycling hauler to accept the school’s mixed waste paper, even though
the company did not offer this service to the rest of the community.
- In 2002 the district was awarded a multi-million dollar grant to
construct an interpretive garden area to serve as an “outdoor classroom” for
school use. This UES grant enabled the school to create additional resource
conservation and learning opportunities in the outdoor classroom, including
a composting area and a greenhouse.
Waste diversion programs established through the grant
include:
- Establishing an “offer versus serve” program in the cafeteria.
- Developing a vermicomposting area in the science lab.
- Installing aerobic composting bins in the outdoor learning center for
campus yard clippings and kitchen scraps.
- Expanding the garden to accommodate aerobic composting.
- Utilizing state of the art child nutrition and school lunch menu
planning software by food service staff helping to reduce food waste while
at the same time offering a more nutritional lunch program to students.
- Incorporating food harvested from the school garden program into the
school lunch program.
- Expanding existing classroom recycling program by adding cardboard
collection, and transporting the recyclables to the community collection
center.
Students participated in the following lessons and
activities:
- Designed the school’s recycling system and worked in small groups to create
and deliver presentations to each classroom about how to properly participate in
the new program.
- Participated in field studies at the Yreka Transfer station to learn about
waste management processes and policies.
- Investigated and gathered data on various composting methods for the school
to further divert waste.
- Investigated resources and use of current, local agricultural practices.
- Investigated the elements of proper nutrition to better understand and
support food service changes in the school cafeteria (leading to the addition of
a salad bar one day a week).
Students used the scientific method to structure and conduct their waste
investigations; expository writing to describe their findings; and persuasive
writing to describe the problem and suggest solutions. In addition, students
compiled, analyzed, and displayed their waste-audit data using appropriate math
skills.
Campus needs assessment
(Adobe PDF, 162 KB) for Etna Union Elementary School District, grade 6.
Unified Education Strategy Home
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