Michigan Green Schools Honors Hundreds of Recipients
WAYNE, Mich. — A major honor was bestowed upon schools in Michigan’s Wayne County. Michigan Green Schools honored 131 Wayne County Schools for its efforts in green-sanctioned activities throughout the school year. Some of the activities included recycling, Earth Day commitments and implementing a school energy-saving program, to name a few.
Students and staff accumulate the points throughout the year in order to be qualified as a Michigan Green School. Each activity earns the school one point, and a total of 10 points earns the school its green school honor.
“The Green Schools program teaches hands-on, ecological stewardship to young people and makes our environment healthier and stronger,” said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, in a statement.
The foundation of the program official after a bill was signed into law in May 2006. In the program’s first year, 18 schools participated across the state — and now it has grown to the participation of hundreds of schools across the state thanks to the initial idea from students and teachers in the county’s Hartland Consolidated School District back in 2005.
“We’ve grown from the first year to 131 [this year]. Next year could be even better if we can double that,” said Ficano in a statement.
The 131 schools from Wayne County were honored in a ceremony held at the Wayne County Regional Education Service Agency (RESA).
Ficano stressed the importance of learning to live a greener lifestyle and said many times the children are the best teachers when it comes to new initiatives.
Many schools on the list have received the honor before — but Belleville High School celebrated their first recognition this year. In order to achieve the designation, students in the school’s ecology class decided they needed to get the entire school involved. They created a video highlighting their superhero efforts to be green and to encourage everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Other states have similar recognition programs that have shown to increase sustainable missions on campus and further support green initiatives throughout the county.
Michigan Schools Honored Include:
Allen Park High School in Allen Park, Emerald
Allen Park Middle School, Allen Park, Emerald
Arno Elementary, Allen Park, Evergreen
Bennie Elementary, Allen Park, Emerald
Lindemann Elementary, Allen Park, Emerald
Iris Beck Elementary, Dearborn, Evergreen
Bryant Middle School, Dearborn, Emerald
Cotter Early Childhood Center, Dearborn, Emerald
Dearborn High School, Dearborn, Emerald
Edsel Ford High School, Dearborn, Evergreen
Fordson High School, Dearborn, Evergreen
Geer Park Elementary, Dearborn, Green
Haigh Elementary, Dearborn, Green
Henry Ford Early College, Dearborn, Green
Henry Ford Elementary, Dearborn Evergreen
Howard Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
Howe Trainable & Montessori Center, Dearborn, Emerald
Long Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
Lowery School, Dearborn, Emerald
Maples Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
McCollough/Unis School, Dearborn, Green
McDonald Elementary, Dearborn, Evergreen
Michael Berry Career Center, Dearborn, Evergreen
Miller Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
Nowlin Elementary, Dearborn, Evergreen
O.L, Smith Middle School, Dearborn, Green
Oakman Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
River Oaks Elementary, Dearborn, Green
Salina Elementary, Dearborn, Green
Salina Intermediate, Dearborn, Evergreen
Snow Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
Whitmore-Bolles Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
William Ford Elementary, Dearborn, Emerald
Woodworth, Dearborn, Green
Academy for Business & Technology Elementary, Dearborn, Green
Advanced Technology Academy, Dearborn, Evergreen
West Village Academy, Dearborn, Emerald
Divine Child Elementary, Dearborn, Evergreen
Muslim American Youth, Dearborn, Green
Sacred Heart School, Dearborn, Evergreen
Dearborn Heights Montessori Center, Dearborn Heights, Emerald
Barnes Elementary, Flat Rock, Evergreen
Flat Rock Community High School, Flat Rock, Evergreen
Simpson Middle School, Flat Rock, Green
Chapman Elementary, Gibraltar, Emerald
Shumate Middle School, Gibraltar, Green
Weiss Elementary School, Gibraltar, Evergreen
Brown Elementary School, Huron, Emerald
Renton Jr. High, Huron, Green
St. Pius Catholic School, Southgate, Emerald
Forest Elementary, Riverview, Green
Seitz Middle School, Riverview, Emerald
Davison Middle School, Southgate, Green
Fordline Elementary, Southgate, Evergreen
Trenton High School, Trenton, Emerald
Bates Elementary, Woodhaven-Brownstown, Emerald
Yake Elementary, Woodhaven-Brownstown, Evergreen
Roosevelt High, Wyandotte, Emerald
Belleville High School, Van Buren, Evergreen
Keystone Acadmey, Van Buren, Green