SoSara

Shen HS students win $77K environmental grant

CLIFTON PARK (Feb. 22) — A great idea, perfect timing and a strong team effort enabled Shenendehowa high school students to win a $77,137 grant to set up a composting program for the school district.

The program aims to start in the high schools by getting students and teachers to dump their biodegradable waste in compost bins in the cafeteria. From there, the organic matter would be taken to be composted in large bins called Earth Tubs. If health regulations permit it, the compost would be used in an organic garden to grow food for the cafeteria.

The grant proposal was written by 7 seniors in Shen East’s public-affairs forum class — Alex Lessard, Meghan Patenaude, Liam Morris, Jon Harrison, Emily Hensler, Jianing Xie and Robbie Callen. The idea started as a required class project in the fall.

“We knew immediately what we wanted to do,” Lessard said.

“We wanted to change the way the school dealt with waste,” Patenaude said.

The students were vexed that the cafeteria was using styrofoam trays instead of a more environmentally friendly option. That started them thinking about the entire waste problem at lunchtime. They also learned that the school’s environmental science classes were looking at composting.

Just as the PAF students were beginning their class in the fall and thinking about ways to deal with the issue, they received word that State Farm Insurance was giving away $5 million in grants for service-learning initiatives. There was just one problem: The grant application was due in a couple of weeks.

“We really didn’t think about it,” Morris said. “We just worked.”

Worked after school. Worked on weekends. Worked as much as necessary to get the proposal written and submitted on time. With research help from more than 100 students in the environmental science classes, the proposal was 1 of just 82 — and 1 of only 3 from New York — out of 1,200 applications in the United States and Canada to be funded.

“I’m proud of Shen,” said State Farm vice president Vance Yoshikawa, who presented a check to the students at a ceremony Monday. “Shen was the only school in upstate New York that got any money.”

Because State Farm receives grant recipients to provide both service and learning, the students plan to use composting as a way to teach others about the importance of minimizing waste in order to protect the earth.

“Our goal is to incorporate as much as we can into the curriculum,” Harrison said.

“We want to buy small Earth Tubs to take to the elementary schools to give students there an idea what composting is about,” Hensler said.

“We’re looking forward to being leaders in the environmental movement,” Xie said.

For more information:

• Shenendehowa Central Schools
• Shenvironment website
• Shenvironment blog
• State Farm Youth Advisory Board
• Earth Tubs