H.L. Johnson Elementary School holds a monthly Green Day where all the students wear green and bring in recyclables that are also fundraisers (glue sticks, glue bottles, juice pouches, ink toners, cell phones, cartridges, paper, beauty supply containers), and at the end of the day, there is a campus cleanup where students, teachers and parents pick up trash on the school grounds.
Recently, in the pouring rain, more than 17 people showed up and weathered the storm, collecting 20 pounds of wet garbage, two pounds of recycling and six pencils. H.L. Johnson is a Green School of Excellence and added the “campus cleanup” to further school efforts.
The school has recently been awarded two grants from Palm Beach County. H.L. Johnson received the Green Seed Award, which is a $300 grant to further the school’s green mission through gardening, landscaping or other means.
H.L. Johnson also won the “Get More Bins” grant for co-mingled recycling bins that will be strategically placed around the school for students, teachers and staff to recycle their water bottles and other items.
The school has also launched a clothing and shoe drive. There is a large bin on the west side of the school for participants to place their donations inside. The school earns 10 cents per pound of donated clothes and shoes. In March, there will be a Green Fair with a shredding event, a clothing drive and green-oriented vendors.
ABOVE: Volunteers clean the school grounds during a rain storm.
