Eastside Catholic has been recognized as a level two King County Green School for improving conservation practices on campus. The King County Green Schools Program helps schools and school districts engage their students and employees in learning about and practicing resource conservation. Over 250 private and public schools across King County have benefited from the program.

The EC Green Team, spearheaded by class of 2018 students Will Foreman and Justin Merlino with guidance from a science teacher advisor, prepared for level two certification by reducing the school’s overall waste stream of trash, recycling and compost and directing a “Ban the Bottle” campaign to encourage students to use refillable water bottles. The team also conducted a carpool campaign to reduce the number of cars on campus, which resulted in more carpools than individual drivers for the 2017-18 school year.

Lastly an anti-idling campaign was launched by the Green Team last year as their final push for Level Two certification. The initiative focused on reducing air pollution around campus by coordinating with drivers to turn their cars off while their car was idle. They worked with students and parents to achieve this goal and meet EPA standards for reduced air emissions.

Learn more about the King County Green Schools Initiative at http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/greenschools/index. asp.