The News-Herald of Willoughby, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

June 19, 2009 Friday

STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

20090619-WL-ENVIRONMENTAL-20090619

511 words

West G gets a bit greener

Cassandra Shofar, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio

Jun. 19--West Geauga High School's eco-friendly efforts have landed it a shot at a $20,000 grant to continue its environmental projects.

As part of Wal-Mart's "Earth Day Every Day School Challenge," the company is recognizing 20 schools across the country who put this idea into practice, and West Geauga Schools has made that short list.

"We've put a real emphasis on the environmental component to the science programming," West Geauga Superintendent Anthony Podojil said.

West Geauga received a $500 gift certificate from Wal-Mart for being a finalist, which will be used to purchase items that reinforce eco-friendly activities, Podojil said.

"We have many students who are interested in pursuing that (environmental component), so I'm not surprised that we're in that group because they put a lot of attention into it, which is very pleasing to me to know that," Podojil said. "We've gotten many environmental grants. It's really exciting."

West Geauga High School was recognized for its student-built outdoor classroom area, complete with native plants, recycled plastic benches (which they built) and eco-friendly bridges on a nature trail through the woods. It also was recognized for its newspaper, bottle and can recycling program, which collects more than 100 pounds of bottles and cans per week; and the "Better Bulb" campaign, which switched hundreds of lightbulbs in the community and at the school to compact fluorescent lightbulbs, according to Wal-Mart.

"At Wal-Mart, we believe that Earth Day should be every day, and small changes can collectively make a big difference for the environment," said Matt Kistler, senior vice president of sustainability at Wal-Mart. "The schools that participated in the 'Earth Day Every Day School Challenge,' especially the 20 finalist schools, are examples of young Americans making a difference in their communities, and Wal-Mart is honored to recognize their efforts."

Finalists submitted a short video showcasing the environmental activities and projects described in their essays. Those videos and essays were posted at www.earthdayeverydaychallenge.com. Since June 9, adults 18 years of age or older have been able to vote for the school they believe should be awarded the grand prize, based on the following criteria (weighted equally): --Involvement of the student body in initiating/continuing the eco-friendly activities/projects/efforts --Demonstration of the school's commitment to eco-friendly practices --Originality/creativity of the eco-friendly activities/projects/efforts.

The school that receives the highest number of votes by today at 11:59 p.m. will be awarded the $20,000 grant.

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June 22, 2009