Athens Schools Receive Money for Environmental Projects

A waste reduction program. Window terrariums. Planting and seeding an organic garden and a nature preserve. Compost bins. A group of environmental crusaders.

These projects and programs all received $200 Eugene Odum Environmental Grants. They will help students learn important environmental lessons and improve the general health of Athens schools.

Winners include , , , and .

This is the 19th year the grants have been presented as a way to encourage young people to learn through hands-on activities. Since 1994, 41 schools have received about $20,400 through the Odum Grants program. This year's winning schools and the teachers who submitted proposals will be recognized at the annual GreenFest Awards Ceremony on April 20, at 6:00 p.m., at the UGA ecology building.

Here are more details on the projects:

Clarke Central: Guided by teacher David Ragsdale, students will implement a waste reduction program, placing waste reduction stations throughout the school to encourage recycling and reduce landfill waste. Funds will purchase waste bins and also support a film contest for students who will create 2 – 3 minute educational short films on waste reduction to be shared with the school community.

Whit Davis: Led by teacher Steven King, students will construct glass terrariums for the windows of their classrooms. The terrariums will contain purchased plants, mosses, rocks and earthworms; creating microcosms for students to learn that the earth is a closed system.

Fowler Driver: Teacher Halley Page's students will use the grant to buy materials to build two compost bins for the school’s two outdoor classrooms. The compost bins not only will reduce the school’s landfill waste, but also will beautify school grounds by supplementing the soils in new raised planting beds with rich, organic matter. Students will maintain the bins and learn firsthand the art of composting.

Middle-grade students at Athens Montessori School, led by teacher Melody Mosby, will buy supplies to install plants and seeds in an organic garden and in a nature reserve. Students and teachers will eat the garden’s produce, and new plants in the nature reserve will attract pollinators and other beneficial wildlife. Students will have vital roles in management of the natural spaces.

Students in teacher Michelle Vecchio-Weinmeister’s class at Clarke Middle School will establish a student group to draw attention to environmental pollution. Funds will buy supplies to perform community clean ups, create Public Service Announcements for broadcast and create school signage for environmental education. The student group, the Classic City Crusaders, will recruit fellow students for their work and engage their families in the activities.

The Odum Grants are awarded as part of GreenFest 2012, held in April and May. Sponsors of the grants are Nutter & Associates, ReCommunity, Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful, the Eugene Odum School of Ecology at UGA, the Oconee Rivers Greenway Commission, the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society, the University Optimist Club and the Kiwanis Club of Athens.