Sustainable Schools Initiative

About Us

Founded by Wilmington, NC parents, the Sustainable Schools Initiative’s mission is to foster green programs in local schools. SSI has partnered with Keep America Beautiful of New Hanover County and is committed to help new and established environmental committees with their efforts of starting and maintaining green programs in our local schools. It is our goal to unite school communities and give the needed tools and resources to accomplish the sustainability goals of each individual school. In doing so, we- along with everyone involved- will foster the development of generations of students becoming good stewards of the earth.

School Recycling Mini-Grant Recipients

New Hanover County Schools fill enough trash Dumpsters to reach from the Battleship to the Beach every 307 days. Teachers and students alike are aware of the staggering amount of recyclables disposed of in schools, and well over half of all schools in New Hanover County have some sort of recycling program to keep those materials out of the landfill.

Mini-grants provided by Keep America Beautiful of New Hanover County will bring recycling to more classrooms. The data collected this year may help recycling expand to more schools. KAB of NHC received donations from International Paper and Progress Energy to fund the mini-grants, and those funds were supplemented with fundraisers such as t-shirt sales and cell phone recycling.

Mary C. Williams and Rachel Freeman Elementary have each been awarded $1250 and St. Mark and Wrightsboro Elementary have each been awarded $650. In addition to the funds, each school will receive educational and promotional materials for their recycling programs. In return, they will track the fullness of their dumpsters and record the amount of recyclables they collect. Some schools may be able to reduce the number of dumpsters the school has, or reduce the number of times the dumpster is emptied per week. These reductions would result in a cost-savings to the school district.

"It Starts With Me" T-Shirts

These white, organic cotton t-shirts are available in youth sizes, ladies, and adult for $15. Please contact us at ssinitiative@aol.com or jeokeefe@nhcgov.com to order one.

School T-Shirt Fundraisers will be held Spring 2010. Sell shirts and raise $$ for your school's green programs. Stay tuned for details.

Topics

Waste Reduction

Composting