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Oak Grove Union School District is a two-school district located in Sonoma
County. Both schools actively participated in the Environmental Ambassador Pilot
Program. The district was selected as an Environmental Ambassador because of its
long-term efforts in recycling, composting, gardening, and energy and water
conservation, all areas in which the students are actively involved. The
district also serves as a demonstration site for numerous schools regarding the
mechanical aspects of recycling and diversion.
The district’s superintendent,
elementary school principal, and teachers expressed strong interest in more
effectively integrating all aspects of the Environmental Ambassador Pilot
Program into their classroom instructional practices. The middle school
principal and teachers quickly added strength to the team with their commitment
to serve as Ambassadors and have continued to excel in their efforts by
establishing a partnership with both the sixth graders at Oak Grove Union School
District and students in Japan pursuing the same types of studies. Community
groups, parents, and some local agencies are currently providing support to the
program.
Education programs implemented with grant funds included:
- Creating standards-based unit plans for use in pilot schools.
- Developing and implementing service-learning projects regarding storm
water management and water conservation on school campuses.
- Developing student-initiated service-learning projects that focus on
waste diversion, energy conservation, restoration and protection of a local
creek, and used oil management.
- Participating in an information exchange/correspondence program with
elementary students in Japan that center on storm water management, water
conservation, and creek restoration.
School representatives have expressed a strong interest in mentoring others
regarding the integrated education program once it is fully developed and
functioning well in their schools. Both schools are part of a district with a
commitment to resource conservation, evidenced by their solar panel-supported
portable classrooms, xeriscaped entranceways, and involvement in zero water
runoff projects.
- Realizing the need to collect recycled-content product information for
grant tracking purposes, Oak Grove’s district secretary created an
electronic purchase order form that features a
column for the percentage of recycled-content in items being ordered. This
purchase order form will continue to be used by the district in hopes of
encouraging district staff to look for recycled-content product options.
- Students from the fifth and sixth grades, accompanied by their teachers,
presented information on stormwater management and creek restoration
projects at the 2005 National Service Learning Conference in Long Beach.
Afterward, the students and their teachers traveled to Japan to make a
similar presentation at a conference there, facilitated through a
partnership with their "sister school" in Hamamatsu, Yoshin Elementary.
- Increasing recycling of organic waste by chipping green waste, food waste,
and biodegradable serviceware for on-site composting; mulching for landscape
efforts at school sites; composting food waste at both schools with help from
parent volunteers (compost program is part of opportunities for student
learning); and creating vegetable gardens at schools for use in their lunch
programs (also serves as a foundation for K–2 curriculum units).
- Switching to single-stream recycling at both schools.
- Developing a video of diversion-related activities and projects.
- Conducting litter pick-ups around campus (kindergarten).
- Monitoring and assisting with the schools’ waste-diversion systems, including
recycling and composting, at Oak Grove Elementary (third grade).
- Designing preventative measures to avert school stormwater runoff from
negatively impacting the local community (fifth grade).
- Participating in the Santa Rosa Creek restoration projects (sixth grade).
CIWMB Office of Education and the Environment
k12edu@calrecycle.ca.gov
(916) 341-6769 |
Oak Grove Union School District
Noel Buehler, Superintendent (nbuehler@ogusd.org)
(707) 545-0171
Fax: (707) 545-0176 |
CIWMB Office of Local Assistance
(916) 341-6199 |
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