The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Turning green: Dexter schools stand up for the planet
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 15, 2008
Dexter Community School officials can hold their heads even higher after being included in the state's "Green School" honor roll.
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Dexter High School and Mill Creek Middle School were recognized this year as Michigan Certified Green Schools by Washtenaw County under Michigan Public Act 146 of 2006 - a law passed to encourage public and private schools to practice environmental responsibility and education.
The Mill Creek staff is no stranger to accolades, as the school was designated a "National School to Watch" in April 2006.
That recognition is awarded to high-performing middle schools that meet stringent criteria in a number of categories by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform.
Many of the requirements of a green school are up to policies set by the district and/or building principal, but others require students and teachers to step up to the plate and do something for the environment themselves.
"I am very proud of our club's achievements this year that led up to becoming a 'Michigan Certified Green School,'" said Katie McKinley, a high school biology teacher and DHS Environmental Club adviser.
The club received a flag on behalf of the school last month at the Livingston Educational Service Agency to signify achievements. It will be hung in the DHS gymnasium.
The club held a fundraiser through We Add Up, a global campaign to drive awareness of climate change caused by carbon emissions.
McKinley and her club cohorts sold organic T-shirts which have sequential numbers and a phrase on the back detailing what a person can do to be a "greener" person.
"The money we earned from the fund-raiser was used to adopt a polar bear and a blue whale from the World Wildlife Federation," she said.
"Polar bears are in danger of going extinct, and your grandkids may never see a polar bear. They are dying because global warming is melting the ice in Antarctica where polar bears used to hunt for food."
According to the WWF Web site, the bears are swimming farther and farther away from their habitat as food sources become scarcer.
The organization is currently researching ways to protect the bears from the effects of global climate change on their habitat, which is what the money raised from the shirts will support.
"We received a certificate of adoption, photos and stuffed animals for our donation and they are in the Environmental Club showcase on the first floor of the school down by the graphic arts wing," McKinley said. "We also used our funds to donate money to the 'Children's Eternal Rain forest' to help them purchase rain forest land in Costa Rica and preserve that precious resource and natural area."
The club raised $1,444 by selling the shirts, as well as bags and water bottles made from 100 percent recyclable materials.
What the WWF doesn't use investing in solar and wind projects or other organizations, it gives the schools to donate as they see fit.
"We got to keep $288, which we used to donate $100 to the Green Schools program, $100 to the World Wildlife Federation to adopt a blue whale and a polar bear, and $88 to the Children's Eternal Rain forest to help that program purchase and protect rain forest land in Costa Rica," McKinley said.
"The rain forests need to be preserved as the majority of them are disappearing due to slash-and-burn agriculture. The rain forests have the greatest species diversity on the planet, and by cutting them down, many species will become endangered or go extinct."
McKinley and several other teachers, including Felicity Burke, Laura Wolfe, Sarah Adler and Nick Hart also volunteered last fall to help the Michigan Department of Natural Resources collect native wildflower seeds at the Brighton Recreation Area.
The seeds were collected to help preserve native prairie plants that have been ravaged by invasive exotic species that were introduced into the ecosystem by unnatural means, according to McKinley.
A number of other initiatives helped the district receive this honor.
The club recycled cell phones, iPods and printer cartridges, as well as hosted guest speakers Kim LeClair of University of Michigan's career services department and environmental engineer Erik Petrovski of Dexter-based Geosyntec.
They spoke to students about careers and education opportunities in science so kids can go one step further by turning helping the environment into a career path.
The district's Oceans' Bowl Science Team placed fourth in the nation in Seward, Alaska, for their expertise in oceanography; thereby fulfilling another requirement.
The team had an expense paid trip to Alaska after winning the regional competition in Ann Arbor earlier this year.
McKinley hopes to expand participation and meet even more requirements next year.
"We hope to be an active club with even more participants next year," she said.
"One thing we plan on doing next year is making a video on water conservation to enter in the Huron River Watershed Council's Film Festival."
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