Also see:
• Maryland Green School Stories from 2007
• Maryland Green Schools Thoughts & Experiences

Aberdeen High School - Harford County

… Working with Abitibi's Paper Retriever program, students kept 5 tons of paper out of the
local landfill. They also recycled paper from Ripken Stadium, increasing the amount of
paper from 4 tons to 9 tons.
… To prevent erosion on a hillside, students purchased native plants with money from
Kleins, a local grocery store, and planted the area.
… English classes wrote articles for the local paper about the school's restoration site.
… Students will be meeting with the Harford County Board of Education in hopes of getting
the Board to eliminate or greatly reduce the amount of disposable lunch trays.
… Students in the Science and Math Academy worked with professionals at Aberdeen
Proving Ground on real world problems. They presented their research findings to
Senator Barbara Mikulski.

Benfield Elementary School - Anne Arundel County

… Working with Arlington Echo and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, students learned
about terrapin turtles and then raised and released two turtles.
… With help from their artist in residence, students designed and installed a Chesapeake
Bay mural using recycled glass and china.
… Boy scouts at the school made bird feeders and the Girl Scouts made bat boxes for
installation around their outdoor classroom.
… The school instituted a "No Idle" zone for buses waiting for students to board. Buses
waiting must turn off their ignition.
… Students decorated T-shirts for their Earth Day celebration.

Broadneck High School - Anne Arundel County

… Classes in physics, biology, environmental science, and child development grow Bay
grasses and then plant the grasses in the Chesapeake Bay.
… The National Honor Society manages the school's recycling program.
… The school's media center sponsored an Earth Day Awareness campaign with daily
quizzes about important environmental issues
… The ecology club sponsored a showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" for the community.
… Students met with their delegates at the State legislature along with environmental clubs
from other area high schools to promote "green" bills, including the Global Warming
Solutions Act and the Critical Area Reform Act.

Chesapeake Bay Middle School-Anne Arundel County

… Became a "Chesapeake Bay Studies" Signature School, the 1st in Anne Arundel County.
… They raised yellow perch, terrapins, submerged aquatic vegetation and American eels.
… They helped restore a neighborhood bog in partnership with Arlington Echo, Anne
Arundel County Board of Public Works and the local community
… With the bog on school property, they worked extensively on storm water management
systems. A local garden club asked them to help control sediment runoff at a nearby
park.
… They wrote letters to state legislators and the Governor promoting the control of
emissions, placing limits on fishing for menhaden, and global climate change action.

Chevy Chase Elementary School - Montgomery County

… Students joined millions of children and adults in an International Walk to School Day
… They participated in the "Pounds per Kid" Contest sponsored by the Potomac
Conservancy to collect seeds for the State tree nursery.
… Montgomery Co Department of Environmental Protection donated $5000 to help the
school install a rain garden.
… They planted milkweed and other butterfly friendly flowers and shrubs in their schoolyard.
Then they raised and released painted lady butterflies into the habitat they created.
… To demonstrate Reduce/reuse/recycle, Tuesdays are Trash Free days.
… To enrich the soil around their plantings, they make compost with a worm bin.
… Students raised thousands of American shad "fry" and released them into the Potomac.

Christ Episcopal School - Montgomery County (Independent School)

… They collected seeds from over 14,500 poplars, 500 oaks, 200 white ash, and 50 black
walnuts and gave them to "Growing Native" a consortium that plants trees near rivers.
… 4th graders work with the City of Rockville to stencil "Do Not Dump" on storm drains.
… Students reduce solid waste by making compost for their children's garden, recycling
paper and ink cartridges, and making bird feeders from their milk cartons. They visited
Montgomery County's recycling center.
… After visiting Lilypons Water Gardens students planned a pond for their gardens.
Lilypons partnered in the project by donating plant stock and supplies to help this effort.
… The school's Green Team visited the headquarters of Marriott Hotels to learn about
"greening" initiatives from a business perspective.

Clarksburg Elementary School - Montgomery County

… They assessed schoolyard habitat and planned and installed a butterfly garden.
… They joined in the Alice Ferguson Foundation's annual clean up of the Potomac River.
… Students learned about the importance of recycling from the Audubon Naturalist Society's
Green Kids program.
… For a contest, students created wetland posters, wrote poetry about nature, and designed
t-shirts with environmental messages.
… 5th graders visited BP Solar to learn how solar panels are made and find out more ways
to save electricity.

Dundalk Elementary School - Baltimore County

… After learning about the loss of bluebird habitat, students partnered with carpentry
students from Sollers Point High School to build and install bluebird boxes.
… Fifth graders wrote, illustrated, and printed a book on the Chesapeake Bay that is now
used in the school library as a reference text.
… Students raised horseshoe crabs with MD DNR's Aquatic Resources Education program.
… They made and installed light switch covers to advertise the need to conserve energy.
… 3rd graders researched, designed and implemented a native plant garden to enhance the
beauty of the school grounds and to provide additional habitat for birds and butterflies.

East Silver Spring Elementary School - Montgomery County

… Students participated in the "Great Backyard Bird Count" sponsored by the Audubon
Society. They graphed their findings and discussed their results.
… After researching the topic of energy, students drew and labeled pictures of what an
energy efficient home would look like.
… Demonstrating the concept of "re-using things", they collect leftover vegetables during
Friday lunch and feed the scraps to worms so later, for compost to add to their gardens.
… They read Dr. Seuss's book, The Lorax, made posters, and shared their ideas. The
school was certified as a Wildlife Habitat site by the National Wildlife Federation.

Franklin Middle School - Baltimore County

… After studying natural habitat and recognizing the threats to local terrapins, students
partnered with the University of Maryland's Biotechnology Department. They adopted,
raised, and released Diamondback Terrapins at Poplar Island in the Chesapeake Bay.
… At Days Cove, they hiked, canoed, and tested for water quality with the Living
Classrooms Foundation. They clean streams and plant buffers.
… At North Bay in Cecil County, students explored environmental issues. They broadcast
timely environmental tips during announcements, on their website, and their marquee.
… The environmental science club put up Environmental Fact posters with messages about
energy conservation and recycling.
… With help from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a group took weekend trips to Wye Island to
camp and plant Bay grasses.
… The new "Dragon Trail" links the schoolyard with a stream and is used to identify biotic
and abiotic factors, test for water quality, and to observe the effects of erosion.
… Students "rehabbed" old furniture that was headed for the dumpster and then sold the
pieces at an auction.
… Students collected and recycled over 75 pounds of batteries.
… To save paper, they submitted their MD Green School application electronically.

Hebron Harman Elementary School - Anne Arundel County

… To absorb and filter schoolyard rainwater, students planted a 500 sq ft raingarden.
… They installed 10 rain barrels to catch water from the school roof to help prevent erosion
and for help in watering the gardens.
… Working with Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center students installed bluebird boxes
and planted 24 native shrubs along a trail.
… Anne Arundel County Master Gardeners created a landscape design for a 7500 square
foot native plant garden. Students accomplished the planting.
… The school earned extra money by recycling paper with Abitibi Paper Retriever program.

Jacksonville Elementary School - Baltimore County

… Teachers met with Pat Ghingher (BCPS) and Jeanne Armacost (DEPRM) to discuss
options for "going green," and participated in a workshop on how to integrate
environmental activities with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program.
… For professional development, a team of teachers attended the MAEOE conference.
… To reduce solid waste and earn money for their environmental projects, the school store
sells reusable "wrap mats" for sandwiches.
… Each morning, students shared "Environmental Tips" during the morning announcements
… The "kid run" school newspaper had a "Green" article on the front page of each issue.
… A local business, the Lovely Manor Garden Center, donates 10% of purchases made by
school families to the school's environmental projects.
… "I Spy Inspector" teams worked to improve indoor air quality by looking for blocked air
vents, dirty filters and mold.
… Student artwork and quotes divided the parts of their MD Green School application.

Kent School - Kent County (Independent School)

… To stabilize a shoreline at Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, students planted 720 plugs of
Spartina alterniflora in partnership with the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
… On the Schooner Sultana, they collected and studied fish, crabs and other Bay life.
… Third grade students wrote a successful grant proposal to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for
funding to establish a native plant garden. When they plant the seedlings they started,
they hope to become a certified "Monarch Way-station".
… Sixth grade students designed decorative switch plate covers with reminders to turn off
the lights as an effort to save energy.
… As the school researched new ways to adopt sustainable operations, they discovered
and converted to all natural cleaning products. The products were so successful that the
school store now sells hundreds of dollars worth of the products each month.

Lime Kiln Middle School - Howard County

… The school organized all of their activities for all grades around "service learning for the
environment". Partners in their efforts include: SeaGrant, Blacks of the Chesapeake, the
American Cichlid Association, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the National
Aquarium in Baltimore, and Earth Force.
… With help from the CBT and Lowe's, students designed and planted a rain garden to stop
erosion on the school grounds. One student made a video of the project.
… Students maintain aquaria with threatened and endangered fish species and conduct
their own research to see the effects of temperature, light, nutrients, etc. One student
published an article in a bulletin produced by the American Cichlid Association.
… Students raised/released rockfish. They grew Spartina for salt marsh restoration.
… Their energy conservation projects earned 2nd place in the county for reducing energy.


Mayo Elementary School - Anne Arundel County

… Solid waste initiatives, especially recycling and reusing, are major efforts. The school
recycles paper and ink cartridges.
… Demonstrating their creativity, they made snowflakes from junk mail and snowmen from
water bottles. They made leprechaun traps out of recycled products, but sadly no
leprechauns were caught.
… Because so much was thrown away at lunch, students held a "Weigh Our Waste" day.
They weighed everything being thrown away and graphed the results. Then, they started
a campaign to reduce the waste. When they held a second day of weighing, there was a
reduction. Checking the results by grade level, the kindergarten took top honors!
… In the Anne Arundel Co Department of Public Works' Junior Water Saver Program,
students learned about the water cycle, how water is purified, and how to conserve.
… With the help of materials supplied by Baltimore Gas and Electric, students studied
energy issues and conservation. They put up posters as reminders to save energy.
… In the schoolyard, students mapped a potential planting area and then calculated the
number of plants and amount of mulch needed for a new garden.

Northern High School - Calvert County

… To conserve energy, the school replaced all of their light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs.
… To create schoolyard habitat, students planted a butterfly garden to attract monarchs.
… The National Honor Society leads an annual clean up of the school grounds.
… The Lorax Club, the school's environmental club, is responsible for recycling paper,
newspaper, ink cartridges and cell phones.
… Teams participate in the yearlong Envirothon, with hands-on learning to prepare for a
national competition about natural resources, environmental science, and current issues.

Norwood Elementary School - Baltimore County

… 3rd grade students worked with interns from Towson University to analyze the school's
environment and draft suggestions for improvements.
… After assessing existing schoolyard habitat, students wrote a proposal to the CBT for
rainbarrels. They will help erosion problems and provide water for the gardens.
… Weekly student workshops covered recycling, birds, and native plant garden topics.
… An arborist helped students select trees to plant on one side of the building. This project
provides wildlife habitat and much needed shade for classrooms.
… Money earned through Abitibi's Paper Retriever recycling program and from First Mariner
Bank for ink cartridge recycling helped purchase plants for the school's "Secret Garden."

Oakland Terrace Elementary School - Montgomery County

… Second graders became "Power Rangers" who checked classrooms to make sure lights
and computers were turned off.
… Audubon Naturalist's "Green Kids" program helped the school start a No Waste
Wednesday. Letters were sent home asking parents to assist their kids in packing
lunches with no waste.
… A local landscaping company helped the school renovate their courtyard, turning the
under-used area into a butterfly garden and schoolyard habitat.
… Fifth grade students attended a Solar Decathalon in Washington DC to learn about solar
powered houses and to see ways math, science and technology are being used daily.
… Students conducted experiments to study the green house effect and created a list of
ways students can reduce emissions.

The Odyssey School - Baltimore County (Independent School)

… They took field trips with Echo Hill Outdoor School and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
… With the MD DNR's TEAM DNR, they conducted stream studies at a local stream.
… They sited, built, maintained, and monitored a bluebird trail and bird feeding stations.
… As a follow-up to their study of energy conservation and alternate forms of energy,
students designed, built and tested their own solar cookers.
… To reduce impact to the local environment, the school's septic tank has a special filtration
system installed.

Patuxent High School - Calvert County

… Newsweek ranked as one of the most demanding high schools in the nation.
… Students wrote and produced children's books about endangered species and then read
them to elementary school students at a nearby school.
… They initiated a "going green" program with residents at Asbury Retirement Facility.
… They Installed rain barrels to help with erosion problems on school property and to help
supply water for their gardens
… Because "maintenance matters", they look after several native plant gardens and use
composted lunch waste to improve the soil.

Piccowaxen Middle School - Charles County

… Students worked with a local elementary school and other community partners to create
several acres of marshland. They and planted thousands of native trees and plants.
… They created an outdoor classroom, re-furbished an old nature trail, and built bird boxes.
… The school collects and recycles cell phones, DVDs, MP3 players, digital cameras and
other electronics to reduce solid waste and to raise funds for projects.
… With the Cobb Island Citizens Association, students participated in the 20th annual
Potomac River Watershed clean up.

Piney Branch Elementary School - Montgomery County

… The National Wildlife Federation awarded a "schoolyard habitat certification" for their
efforts in enhancing habitat and for removing invasive plants from their butterfly garden.
… With the MD Dept of Natural Resources, students raised and released horseshoe crabs.
… They also raised and released American Shad, an endangered migratory fish.
… To reduce car emissions, students celebrated "International Walk to School Day"
… "English as a Second Language" students studied solar power and then wrote essays
explaining the environmental energy issues involved.

Plum Point Elementary School - Calvert County

… Working with CHESPAX (the EE program in Calvert County) students explored the
various ways they can learn about and address environmental issues.
… Students studied oysters, evaluated areas for oyster gardening, and promoted public
awareness about oyster habitats and gardening.
… They raised diamond back terrapins and maintained bluebird boxes.
… Second graders publish a weekly newspaper with recycling tips. Weekly "green tips" are
read during the morning announcements.
… In the schoolyard, the school's sign is powered by a solar light system.

Poolesville High School - Montgomery County

… The whole school is used as environmental teaching and learning tool. The campus
includes a greenhouse, two wetlands, an arboretum and an outdoor classroom.
… Learning extends into the community. Due to its energy conservation measures the
school showed a savings of $5,000 in four months. Students developed and distributed a
flyer for the town to encourage people to conserve energy.
… Students conduct research projects on a variety of topics. Two were recommended to
present their projects to the West Montgomery County Citizens Association.
… Three environmental films produced by students were shown at a special film fest.
… The school has its own "Roots and Shoots" club which raises money for environmental
projects. One fundraiser included selling reusable canvas bags for grocery shopping.

Pot Spring Elementary - Baltimore County

… The environment is alive and engaging at Pot Spring Elementary School!
… Their Principal, Karen Harris testified and students participated in a video to assist with
the federal No Child Left Inside legislation. Students also demonstrated their stewardship
efforts for the Maryland State Board of Education.
… To demonstrate how to "reuse" things, the whole school collected and sorted over 500
empty detergent bottles to build a sculpture for display in their front schoolyard. It was 6
ft tall, 20 ft long. This is one way to reuse stuff and keep it out of the landfill. Fun too!
… A 4th grade student learned about a program sponsored by Wal Mart and Elmer's Glue to
recycle Glue sticks and bottles of glue and the whole school got involved. Another
"Reduce-Reuse-Recycle" project involved recycling about 1600 drink pouches in two
months in partnership with Terrracycle.
… Their habitat restoration activities include: blue bird nest boxes, planting trees, growing
submerged aquatic vegetation, making reef balls for oyster habitat.
… "It takes a village"! REI helped in their Earth Day event, Baltimore Equitable Insurance
Foundation and CBT provided grants for activities, Watson's Garden Center made
auction donations, Tree-mendous Maryland donated trees, two local grocery stores gave
paper bags for student-designed -environmentally friendly messages, Baltimore County
DEPRM and BCPS assisted with their planting days.

Radcliffe Creek School - Kent County

… With the MD Dept. of the Environment, the Chester River Association and others, they
restored a failing storm water management pond and created a living wetland.
… Students raised/released diamond back terrapins, grew submerged aquatic vegetation for
planting in Bay tributaries, and installed wood duck boxes to expand habitat options.
… The school recycles glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, batteries and ink cartridges.
… To promote energy conservation students designed light switch plates to share an
environmental message.
… For her outstanding environmental leadership, Heidi Anthony was named Teacher of the
Year by the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

River Hill High School - Howard County

… Members of the Environmental Club researched how to conduct home energy audits.
Then, during the county's Green Fest, they filled up 7 pages with requests from local
families to have them come and conduct the audits.
… They held a community showing of "An Inconvenient Truth", followed by discussion and a
student-generated presentation of what people can do to decrease their carbon footprint.
… The National Honor Society built wood duck boxes for the Maryland Wood Duck project.
… Students journeyed to Annapolis to lobby for the Global Climate Change bill.
… Recycling at school has become such a schoolwide effort and so important that the
"boosters club" bought large recycling bins for use during football games.

The Rosedale School - Baltimore County

… With guidance from Mr. Gene Flanagan, students learned problem solving and other life
lessons by hands-on action, accomplishing hundreds of hours of community service in
Baltimore County, including maintaining trails, removing stream debris and invasive
plants, restoring stream buffers, and flood and erosion control.
… To reduce erosion and improve water quality students planted submerged aquatic
vegetation and planted 600 trees at Fleming Park in Dundalk.
… Working with the Gunpowder Conservancy students have planted over 200 trees to
reforest areas around Peerce's Plantation. To help reforest Fort Howard, the DNR
Forest Service Tree-mendous Maryland Program donated 30 trees.
… To cut down on energy lost through "phantom" or hidden usage, they installed power
strips so that computers could be turned completely off at the end of the school day.
… Indoor air quality issues were identified and possible solutions drafted.

St. Andrew's United Methodist Day School - Anne Arundel County (Independent)

… The school's Agricultural Center grows crops to donate to their community food bank.
… 8th graders participated in "Project Citizen" a competition on public policy. Urban sprawl,
over-harvesting of diamond back terrapins, and deer overpopulation were the student's
topics chosen for research. They drafted solutions and made presentations.
… Students learned about bats and their role in the ecosystem. To help protect the
endangered species, they raised funds by selling popcorn during lunch.
… With the National Aquarium in Baltimore they raised/released rockfish and white perch,
built a shed for their "AquaEcosystem" tank, and grew smooth cord grass for planting.
… 2nd graders researched the environmental issues and cost/benefit of paper vs. plastic
grocery bags to see which makes the most sense. Their recommendation: Use reusable
bags. And, they'll be happy to sell you some. The profits go to Heifer International.

Sudlersville Elementary School - Queen Anne's County

… Students bagged oysters at the Horn Point Lab in Cambridge and learned to snorkel as
part of a reef ball project
… They collected data on raptors for the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center.
… They raised and released diamond back terrapins.
… In town, they stenciled storm drains to remind people of their connection to the Bay.
… To reduce sediment moving from land to Bay tributaries, they planted a rain garden.
… All of this work was highlighted in a book recently published by the Maryland State
Department of Education called, Feet Wet, Hands Dirty.

Takoma Park Middle School - Montgomery County

… With Friends of Sligo Creek, students worked to monitor water quality in the creek.
… They gathered seeds from native plants for the Growing Native Pounds-per-Kids project.
… The school ranked second in all of the Montgomery Co Public Schools for energy
savings. They designed light switch covers to remind people to turn off the lights, issued
"tickets" when the lights were left on, made posters about energy conservation, and
began using "task lamps" on desks instead of overhead lighting. They earned a
performance award of $3,000 from the school system for their efforts.
… In an alternative energy project, Sci Club students designed/raced solar powered cars.
… Around the school, signs reminding students and teachers about recycling and energy
conservation were posted in four languages.

Walkersville Elementary School - Frederick County

… They learned about the importance of water, conducted a water usage survey at home,
researched ways to reduce consumption, and shared those ideas with their parents.
… Third graders learned about land use and watersheds from students in Walkersville High
School's Advanced Placement Environmental Science class.
… NOAA-BWET provided funding for their Schoolyard Habitat Program. Students from both
the high school and elementary school planted trees, native shrubs, native wildflowers
… To increase tree canopy at school, they partnered with the Potomac Conservancy.
… This school was named a "Watershed Steward" by the Monocacy Catoctin Watershed
Alliance for its efforts in tree planting and wildlife habitat improvement.

Walkersville High School - Frederick County

… A native tree nursery, planted several years ago provided trees for the basis of a nature
trail; an additional 100 trees were donated by the The Potomac Conservancy.
… Students taught environmental lessons to children at the local elementary school
… To town officials, students offered ways to consider environmental implications when
making decisions. The school sends a team to the statewide Envirothon.
… Civics classes analyzed current news items regarding the nation's forests and discussed
the constitutionality of the President's actions.

Westminster West Middle School - Carroll County

… Students maintain an outdoor classroom and a network of blue bird boxes. They built 30
new boxes to replace old boxes and gave others to a nearby elementary school.
… With Carroll Co Master Gardeners, the Carroll Co Outdoor School, and the CBT, they
installed a 500 sq ft rain garden to reduce erosion and runoff from the bus parking lot.
… To kick off Arbor Day, students added 23 trees to a reforestation project with an
additional 10 trees donated by the city of Westminster.
… They collected old cell phones for distribution by police department to needy residents.
… An "energy hog" decal was posted on doors of empty classrooms with lights left on.

Williamsport Elementary School - Washington County

… They celebrated 2000 Pound Day when they recycled 2,000 lbs of paper in one year.
That's a ton of paper!
… In town, students stenciled storm drains as reminders of the connection to the Bay.
… Planting over 1500 seedlings helped control erosion and buffer sound pollution.
… Students wrote to the local fire department asking for help over the summer vacation to
assist them in watering the trees they planted.
… In a student-led an energy savings campaign, data was collected and graphed to
demonstrate how much energy the school saved over time.

Windy Hill Middle School - Calvert County

… With CHESPAX, 7th graders studied indicators of Bay health, researched trends,
collected data, grew grasses in the classroom for planting in Chesapeake waters.
… The school hosted an art contest called, "I can make a difference."
… Paper and ink cartridges are recycled; used clothing is collected for re-use.
… Home Depot donated spray paint for stenciling " Don't Dump" on storm drains.
… Parents volunteer regularly to take recycling to the proper local facility.