Mount View Middle School is proud to be submitting this application for its second Green School recertification. Our school's Green School program began in 2010 when we were selected as a pilot school for the county's new environmental education course, and students were given the opportunity to "effect change in their community." Today, the original course no longer exists, but the tenets of the course continue to drive our program. Students learn about the environment in a myriad of educational opportunities, participate in activities to lessen our school's environmental footprint, and then become leaders who design and implement new lessons and initiatives. From working on this website to running our school REstore, Mount View students are environmental leaders at school and in our community.
Over the years we have:
From the beginning, our Green School program has been part of our school wide vision "to create a safe and innovative environment where kids feel that they have a voice and that they can make a difference." In the last 9 years, our Green School program has adapted to new middle school bell schedules, different course offerings, and programatic shifts. This adaptation has been possible because our program is driven by students who lead efforts, with the full support of our staff, to make our school community more sustainable. We are excited that a Green Culture has truly begun to take root in our school, and we are motivated to continue taking steps to reduce our environmental footprint.
Thank you for considering our application for Green School Recertification !
Over the years we have:
- changed from having NO recycling at school and a copy paper shortage each year to having more than 10 different waste streams diverted through reducing, reusing, recycling, and upcycling.
- changed from having NO involvement in saving electricity to having a school culture where saving energy is seen as a priority and data is used to reduce energy consumption.
- changed from having one native plant bed to having four native plant gardens, two habitat areas, an outdoor classroom, and a reforested area with 150 new trees.
- changed from having little awareness of sustainable food practices to engaging more than 1000 people in growing their own food and herbs, eating less processed food to reduce deforestation, and supporting local CSAs.
- changed from having environmental education lessons primarily in science and social studies classrooms to having environmental literacy objectives incorporated into at least one grade of all core content classes, as well as through specialized seminar opportunities such as city design and oyster gardening.
From the beginning, our Green School program has been part of our school wide vision "to create a safe and innovative environment where kids feel that they have a voice and that they can make a difference." In the last 9 years, our Green School program has adapted to new middle school bell schedules, different course offerings, and programatic shifts. This adaptation has been possible because our program is driven by students who lead efforts, with the full support of our staff, to make our school community more sustainable. We are excited that a Green Culture has truly begun to take root in our school, and we are motivated to continue taking steps to reduce our environmental footprint.
Thank you for considering our application for Green School Recertification !
TOP 5 Accomplishments
Oyster Gardening Program: In the last four years, we have built a partnership The Annapolis Maritime Museum and The Oyster Recovery Partnership to engage students in raising cages of oyster spat and rebuilding oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay.
Clothing To Cash Bin: Based upon the research of two 6th grade students, Mount View has diverted 20,465 pounds of textiles from its waste stream.
Native Plant Gardens: Thanks to the Subaru Loves The Earth campaign and The National Wildlife Federation, we have refurbished our native plants gardens and this spring we will be adding a new garden that has lessons integrated across grades and contents.
Earth Day Plant Give Away: One of our most popular traditions, free plants are given out to students each Earth Day including strawberries, potatoes, and indoor plants.
Student Leadership: Our students' proudest accomplishment is their ownership of our Green School initiatives and the leadership they show as they prepare and run many green events, from food tastings to trivia games.