Halden_composting
Woodside School submitted an application to the County of San Mateo Office of Sustainability for a grant for the work being done on campus to reduce waste and utilize composting in our school garden. We recently learned that WES was awarded the 4R’s Grants Program and the amount of $1,472! Learn the details below...
 
Project Details
  • Collect food waste during school lunch and compost those materials in the Woodside school garden.
  • Educate students about composting while making sure compostable materials do not end up in landfills. 
Participants
  • A group 7th graders are involved with this project and will work with groups of younger students throughout the year and guide them through the composting process.
  • These students were recommended to participate in this project because they showed an interest in composting and food waste management. Their interest inspired them to choose recent science projects and STEM fair projects in this area. Having middle school students involved will inspire participation of the rest of the student body and give them ownership of the project.
  • The students decided upon the project and supplies list and they thought working with younger students first would be best. 
  • Brian Myrtetus will be mentoring these student leaders as well as the middle school science teacher and TK teacher for the younger students.
  • There is a small-scale project going on now with 4th and 5th grade. This project has found that approximately 12 lbs of compostable food waste is thrown out daily at our school!
  • This grant would be used to help expand the program school-wide. 
Inspiration
  • 5th grader Halden W., was the inspiration for the grant. Halden began collecting fruit and vegetables to compost during lunch time. He then recorded how much he collected and included it in his science fair project. He has also encouraged students and teachers to use reusable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles.
  • 7th graders, Aidan B., Reed P., Charlotte K., Tristyn K., and Olivia N. worked with Mr. Myrtetus on applying for the grant and Ms. Bowdoin recommended the students for being so responsible.
One Step Further...
  • Propose buying reusable water bottles for these 7th-grade students and their classmates to encourage the use of the bottle filling station at the school.  The students decided that provision of water bottles for only one grade level would be more responsible to first gauge interest and use.