Suffield High students won big in a regional competition designed to promote sustainability, Laura F. Alix of the Journal Inquirer reports. The school's Earth Science Club members created a video and wrote an essay about current green programs and their other ideas for protecting the environment.
SUFFIELD, CONN. -- Suffield High School recently became the recipient of a $20,000 grant awarded by Connecticut Light & Power in its "Live Green, Win Green" contest.
The competition, which was open to all high schools in CL&P's service area, was developed to encourage high school students to conserve energy and protect the environment.
To enter, students had to submit a two-minute video and a 1,000-word essay demonstrating their school's "green" programs and new initiatives they would like to use the grant money for. The Earth Science Club entered the competition for Suffield High School.
"It really seemed like a good way to get all these guys to think about these issues," said teacher and club mentor Justin Kaput.
In their submission, the students discussed the school's current green programs ? recycling bins, the composting bin in the cafeteria and their visits to Divine Brooke behind the school for cleanup sessions. They proposed using the money to build a green roof on top of the school or to modify the gutter system so they could reuse the runoff water to water school grounds.
The students said they also are interested in participating in a Farm to Schools program where the school would purchase more of its food from local farmers. Although the program could be difficult to implement because school lets out for the summer, it's still a good idea, said Megan Walsh, a sophomore and club vice president.
Eating locally grown food is healthier, helps out the local economy and helps reduce carbon emissions produced by trucks that would otherwise carry the food long distances, she said.
And though "going green" might be trendy for the moment, the Earth Science Club members say their generation is more aware of the impact humans have on the environment, so they aren't worried that environmental consciousness will go out of style.
"People nowadays want to be more responsible," junior Anne Sollish said. "It's our responsibility and duty to protect our home."
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