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Pacific Unified
School District (Pacific USD) consists of one school, Pacific Valley School,
and is located along the Big Sur coastline in Monterey County. During the grant
period, Pacific USD served a student population of approximately 44 students with seven teachers.
Pacific USD’s ongoing resource conservation program has a 70 percent diversion rate due to the
implementation of several measures, including both on-site and off-site
diversion of food scraps (on-site done by composting, off-site by scraps
provided to a local resident’s pig), recycling of beverage containers, use of
washable cutlery, paper reuse and recycling, and installation of
energy-efficient features.
With the UES grant, Pacific USD set out to establish an
infrastructure for a unified approach to environmental education instructional
strategies and to investigate local waste management practices through the
following efforts:
- Conducted a coastal cleanup and a waste assessment at a local beach.
Students toured the Monterey Regional Waste Management District landfill and
recycling site to explore waste management efforts in Monterey County.
- Conducted scientific research along part of the Big Sur coastline
related to the effects of improper disposal of garbage.
- Developed and conducted a survey of local businesses’ recycling efforts.
- Conducted outreach and peer teaching at neighboring schools using
various mediums of art to teach science-related concepts.
- Presented program activities (presentation made by students) to the
Multi-Agency Council, represented by State agencies, federal agencies,
businesses, and the local community.
Additionally, Pacific USD used grant funds for staff time
in order to develop a comprehensive standards-based education unit incorporating
the following disciplines:
- English/Language Arts: Developed business letters and a recycling
survey. Refined written and oral communication skills by way of
presentations to the Pacific USD Board and the Big Sur Multi-Agency Council.
- Mathematics: Tabulated and analyzed data collected from the coastal
clean-up waste assessment and the survey of local business recycling
efforts.
- Science: Studied mismanagement of waste and resulting coastal impact;
developed the Long-term Monitoring Program & Experiential Training for
Students program.
- Visual Arts: Designed and developed labels, public exhibit material,
maps, electronic slide presentations, and art derived from discarded
materials.
- Pacific USD plans to continue its program with in-kind support from
federal, State, and county agencies. The district also intends to
communicate with and offer solutions to the local community concerning waste
and resource management. Finally, the district is committed to participating
in and expanding outreach to local schools through the Ambassador of the
Arts and the Environment program.
- Recipient of the
2005 Governor’s
Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, Children’s Environmental Education
Category.
- This program was successful because the team of teachers frequently met to
strategize program development, integration and implementation.
- The program goals were continually shared with participants. This encouraged
ownership of the program, a greater understanding of their role in the program
and increased buy-in.
- Community partnerships and district administration were an invaluable support
to this program.
- Through peer teaching, Pacific Valley students gained an understanding of what
teachers undergo in preparing and delivering concepts to a class. Students
experienced being viewed as a role model by their peers and the students they
were teaching.
- Students provided local businesses and agencies with recycling signs.
- Students presented information regarding the management of waste in the Big Sur region to the Big Sur Multi-Agency Council. As a result, the Council made a
commitment to address recycling efforts in the Big Sur region.
- Due to Big Sur’s rural location, it is currently not cost-effective to recycle
materials throughout the region due to high transportation costs. Big Sur is
approximately 90 minutes south of Monterey and 45 minutes north of Cambria.
- Big Sur’s high level of tourism increases the amount of recyclable materials
that could be collected through recycling services.
- Partnerships were formed among the district and with local, county, State, and
federal agencies to address waste management issues in the Big Sur region.
- As a result of the Pacific Valley students’ presentation, the Big Sur Multi-Agency Council committed to addressing the need for a recycling center.
Lessons Created
Pacific Valley School's campus needs assessment (Adobe PDF, 143 KB)
provides lesson plans for an audit of solid waste generation.
Example lesson from Pacific Valley’s Education Unit
Pacific Valley students utilized art as a medium for their own assessment of
learning environmental concepts and as a means of teaching these environmental
concepts to students at Cambria Grammar School.
Coming Soon!
Partnerships
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