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NEWS

 

Abram Lansing students pave a green path for school district

 

Phonebook February has given way to Magazine March as the school district continues its effort to reduce waste, improve energy efficiency and accumulate savings. Families are encouraged to drop off unwanted magazines during the month of March to one of the district's three elementary schools. Students from one school, and one class in particular, have made it their mission to be eco-leaders in the Cohoes school community.

PhotoAbram Lansing’s “Green Team” - mostly comprised of students in Jeff Huneau's fifth grade class - is leading the magazine recycling effort as part of a larger paper recycling drive happening districtwide. Students from each school in the district collect paper and store it in special recylcling bins. An outside vendor, T.A. Predel & Co., Inc., purchases the school district’s recycled paper on a per pound basis.

In addition to the recycling efforts being spearheaded by Lansing students, Green Team members have been stepping up their Energy Patrols, during which students canvass the school, reminding teachers and building personnel to turn off lights, computers, monitors, and more. At the start of Winter Recess, several media outlets turned out to watch members of the Lansing Green Team conduct an enhanced vacation Energy Patrol. Media coverage can be viewed here and here.

PhotoThe energy patrols are part of a larger Green Team effort launched in the Cohoes schools earlier this year. There are Green Team efforts underway at each of the district’s three elementary schools, the middle school and the high school, including:

 

  • a districtwide paper recycling effort, where students from each school collect paper in special receptacles. An outside vendor, T.A. Predel & Co., Inc. purchases the recycled paper on a per pound basis.

  • a collection of recyclable, returnable bottles and cans by third graders at Harmony Hill School, where proceeds are being donated to the Mohawk Hudson River Humane Society.

  • Trayless Tuesdays – an effort in the Cohoes Middle School cafeteria to reduce use of Styrofoam trays.

Earlier this month, the Abram Lansing Green Team launched its first newsletter, called The Green Gossip, a monthly report the students will use to: update the community on the schools’ recycling efforts; offer tips on energy efficiency and recycling; and inform the school community of upcoming “Green Events.”