Newsletter - Issue 1 

Newsletter - Issue 2

UHSSE is Going Green

The Environmental Science class of 27 upperclassmen at the University High School of Science and Engineering (a Hartford Magnet School) has embarked on a journey of research, development, action in moving their high school closer to becoming a “Green School”. We have chosen to spend the school year on making a difference and leaving a legacy of concern and action to the future students attending UHSSE.

The name of the project is “UHSSE is Going Green”. Although the project is based out of the environmental science class, it will increase the awareness of sustainability throughout the school community. In the past month, students have broken up into 8 teams based on their interest in contributing to big picture. Each team has developed a goal and action plan to be introduced to the school community in November. Baseline data needed to evaluate the success of each project (such as school wide surveys) was collected by each team. The following is a brief description of each of the teams’ projects.

Paper Recycling Project

The City of Hartford does not have a paper recycling program at their schools. After discussing observations of the amount of paper thrown away every day in classrooms, the students decided get a program started.  The team has been in contact with the University of Hartford for assistance in getting the paper to a recycling site on campus. The university will allow us to use their facility to help move our project forward. The teams’ goal is to increase the awareness and action of the UHSSE school community in the benefits of recycling paper. In November, the team will place paper recycling boxes in the classroom and staff work areas. Ultimately, the students would like to begin the discussion with the Hartford Board of Education about developing and implementing a district-wide paper recycling program in our schools.

Can and Bottle Recycling Project

Presently, the UHSSE community does not have the opportunity to recycle cans and bottles. The team will change that in November by placing collection sites in the cafeteria and staff work areas. The students are looking into the possibility of  using the bottle and can deposit returns as a fund raising opportunity.

Sneaker Recycling Project w/ Nike-Reuse-A-Shoe

The teams’ application to become part of the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program has been accepted. In partnership with Nike, the students will develop and implement a sneaker collection drive at UHSSE from November 2011 through March 2012. The sneakers will be recycled into synthetic surfaces to be used in playgrounds and athletic fields. The teams’ goal is to collect 500 pairs of sneakers this school year.

Winter Coat Drive Project

The goal of the team is to collect 100 winter coats of all sizes to be donated to a charity in Hartford. The coat drive will run for 2 weeks in November 2011. The specific charity to which the coats will be donated is Our Sisters’ Place, a local shelter for homeless women and children.

Energy Efficiency Project

The best way to begin decreasing energy use in our community is to increase awareness of how wasteful we can be. The teams’ goal is to get staff and students to be more aware of energy use and to turn of lights and computers when they are not needed. The product of this project would be that the school decreases its carbon footprint and also decreasing the money needed to meet the schools energy needs. The team will compare energy use before and after the introduction of their project to the school to measure their success.

Outdoor Classroom Project

Bringing student learning outside as well as bringing the natural environment inside the classroom is the goal of this project. The team is working on developing a clean-up and beautification action plan for UHSSE. A bulb planting and fall clean-up activity has been planned for November. The students would like to see an increasing the number of plants in the classrooms throughout the year by way of voluntary teacher participation. The team is also working on developing ideas as to how they can involve the school community in the maintenance and access to the local nature trail. Possible school-wide activities for in celebration of Earth Day in April 2012 include a “Trash Art Exhibit”, grade level interdisciplinary units, and participation in a community clean-up project of the local nature trail in collaboration with the nearby Annie Fisher School (a grade 1-8 STEM Magnet School).

Nutrition and Wellness Project

The students’ objective is to increase student nutritional awareness and developing a healthy lifestyle. The team is working with the districts’ nutritionist to evaluate the school lunch menu and develop new healthy food choices at UHSSE.  Also, the students are encouraging the community of UHSSE to take the “Let’s Move” pledge to increase daily physical activity.

Oil-eating Bacteria Research Project

The team will research how bacteria can be used to decrease the amount of oil in an environment. After the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, students have become aware of the environmental impact an oil spill can have on the environment. As part of our Going Green initiative, the team will look at environmentally conscious was of cleaning up oil spills. The students are working on developing an experiment which will test the effect of bacteria on the decomposition of oil in the environment.