Stevenson School has completed a number of green initiatives following the “as simple as ABC!” outline.

A for Awareness:
Michael Brune, author of Coming Clean: Breaking America’s Addition to Oil and Coal spoke with the students, parents and teachers. Brune is the executive director of the Rainforest Action Network.
An assembly was held for students to present the play “Cool the Earth” to the third-fifth grade classes to educate students and families about global warming and inspire them to take simple, energy-saving actions at home to reduce their carbon emissions.  The school planted six new trees as part of the citywide effort “Trees for Tomorrow program.”

B for Beautification & Building our Gardens:
20 or more planters are placed near the classrooms so students can grow plants and conduct grade appropriate scientific research on plants. The Stevenson library has a collection of books and DVDs through a science grant to educate on environmental and ecological topics. The library website also features information on the K-5 classes. The school has received three grants to support this garden project.

C for Conservation:
A Conservation Connection Program included five days of professional development for teachers and five field trips for students. The city and county visited the fifth grade using demonstrations and games to educate about the Earth’s water supply.

D is for Discovery & Dreaming:
Students made creative writing/art projects with an environmental theme.

E is for Environment Day:
There was an entire school celebration, transforming the auditorium into a magical environmental learning space with fun and educational activities for every grade. Students created, planned and organized the school wide environment fair.

Stevenson School has been awarded a grant for garden and hands-on nutrition lessons. The school has a green team that empowers students to develop activities and implement actions to help the environment. This April, the school has planned a trash day to heighten awareness about what gets thrown away every day. There will be a classroom challenge to calculate and compare costs of bringing a disposable waste-full lunch vs. a reusable waste-free lunch. A classroom audit will also be conducted to determine where the bulk of class trash is coming from.