Ocean City Schools Becomes One of the First Sustainable Jersey Schools

Ocean City School District (OCSD) staff and students have taken their “green thumbs” to the next level!

The district is one of the first 100 in the state of New Jersey – and one of only six districts in Cape May County – to register for the new Sustainable Jersey for Schools program, launched less than a year ago.

The distinction was earned after the OCSD Board of Education adopted a resolution of participation in the program, and then implemented and improved upon existing district “green initiatives,” led by the administration, staff, and students at the Ocean City Intermediate School (OCIS), which serves about 500 fourth- through eighth-grade students.

“We’ve always done energy savings promotions,” said OCIS Principal Geoffrey Haines. “When I went to a Sustainable Jersey workshop, I thought it was really cool that we already did a lot of these things necessary to become a green school. So, OCIS created a Green Team and did some research about what else we could do to promote sustainability and energy savings.”

“Ocean City School District is proud to be one of the leading schools in providing co-curricular educational benefits to our students regarding the environment,” said OCSD Superintendent Kathleen Taylor, Ed.D. “We are doing everything we can, led by the innovative team at Ocean City Intermediate School, to teach our students, and hopefully ignite their passion, for the environment.”

As a result, OCIS received a $2,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey for Schools that they used to provide all incoming fourth-graders with a special “Red Raiders Go Green” reusable canvas bag at the 2015-16 Orientation in August. Each bag was filled with a reusable water bottle made from recycled material with the OCIS logo, a CFL “energy safe” light bulb, home smart/earth friendly socket insulators, and information about recycling. The school also installed two water-bottle filling stations.

“We welcomed our new students to our school with an energy-saving reusable canvas bag, to teach them on the ground-level right when they come into our school about this important topic,” said Haines.

OCIS also has a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat in their courtyard/school garden, which they recently restored and improved upon to make the space an outdoor classroom. Students maintain plant beds with vegetables and berries. The Ocean City Primary School, which is currently undergoing major renovations, hopes to install a similar space near the playground.

Through the current grant proposal, Haines and his staff would also like to distribute the bags to the Chamber of Commerce and realtors, so that the school can promote sustainability throughout the community, and perhaps to Ocean City’s many visitors from throughout the world. Haines also would like to purchase more reusable water bottles for the rest of his students.

Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a certification program available for New Jersey public schools that want to go green, conserve resources, and take steps to create a brighter future. The nonprofit provides tools, training, and financial incentives to support and reward districts as they pursue sustainability programs. The first 100 registered schools represent all 21 counties in New Jersey.

As a registered district, OCSD will receive priority access to grant programs and is eligible for even more small grants.