Go Green – A many-layered science and energy program for grades K-5

[add_slideshow slideshowcaption=”Kids Go Green for the Future” align=”right”]When six teachers at Consolidated School got together to devise a multi-grade environmental program, their goal was to involve students and their families in making a positive impact on the environment. The pilot program that resulted – Go Green – won a $10,000 grant by the EFKA. From that beginning, Go Green has generated such success and shown such promise that it has attracted additional support from enthusiastic private donors, including many individuals and businesses who have offered reduced prices or in-kind donations.

Go Green supports the curriculum for students at all grade-levels. For instance, first-graders make paper themselves, in the process learning about industrial processes, raw materials and waste products, and energy usage, while fifth-graders measure the efficiency of electrical appliances and build wind turbines.

Go Green funding paid for the building of a greenouse and an outdoor learning center at Consolidated School. The greenhouse will be used to supplement the biology and ecology curriculum at all grade levels. The outdoor classroom will enable students to study in a natural setting, whether that involves any of a variety of outdoor science activities, a writing lesson, or peaceful, quiet reading time. This structure will have a green roof, which students will begin to grow this spring in the greenhouse. The Go Green project is also installing solar panels on the roof of Consolidated School to reduce electricity costs by producing clean energy.

These green improvements not only save the town money on energy bills; each day, they give students and teachers hands-on lessons that their actions make a difference.