Riverside School has an Ecology Club and the club has led the efforts in going green. The club members made recycling containers for all of the classrooms and they collect the recyclable materials each week and see that these items get to the local recycling center. The students have brought recycling containers into the cafeteria and the teachers’ lounge and working areas to collect materials so they are not placed in the trash. The students are also excited that the custodian is now using half as many trash bags because of everyone’s efforts.

The members have also made presentations on the school’s morning announcements to help educate the other students about how they can “green” the planet by working together.  The Ecology Club has a display board in the main hall of the school that features a weekly tip about how they can recycle wrapping paper, make less trash, etc.  Each classroom has an “energy buster”, a student who makes sure that all electrical devices and lights are shut off each time the class will be out of the class room. As much as possible, the classes also hold class with only half of the lights on. This is true in all areas of the building, including the office.

Riverside school installed new boilers to be more energy efficient. The classrooms are kept at a cooler temperature in the winter and a warmer temperature in the spring and fall to conserve energy. The school program is four years old; the school building is 18 years old. The district has told the students that they are the most energy efficient building in the corporation even though they are one of the largest!

The Riverside students always have an Earth Day celebration to celebrate their activities throughout the year. In past years they planted trees, and this year the school is pulling out wide-spread weeds that are hurting the community park. These activities are done by the school so that all students can be part of the service and environmental learning. The school is also hosting an Electronic Recycling Competition between all of the classrooms, to raise funds for school programs by collecting used electronic devices and recycling them.