Meadowthorpe Elementary is the seventh national Green Ribbon School honoree for FCPS, headlining a batch of environmental awards for spring 2018. This recognition from the U.S. Department of Education indicates Meadowthorpe has made great strides in three areas or pillars: reducing environmental impact and costs; improving the health and wellness of schools, students, and staff; and providing effective environmental and sustainability education.
- Meadowthorpe’s efforts (page 87)
Another big honor for 2017-18 went to Morton Middle School, Bryan Station High School, and the Family Care Center, whose students completed projects in all nine categories of the Kentucky Green and Health Schools program: green spaces, energy, solid waste, water, transportation, indoor air quality, health and safety, instructional leadership, and hazardous chemicals. Morton also maintained its status as a model KGHS.
Meanwhile in the Kentucky National Energy Education Development Project, SCAPA at Bluegrass received recognition for the National Rookie Project of the Year, and Southern Elementary was cited as an elementary participant in Kentucky NEED.
Locally in the Battle of the Buildings, schools with the largest energy reduction compared their stats from the previous year during Earth Week. The Energy Challenge’s top schools each earned $500 to reinvest in student-driven sustainability improvement projects: Veterans Park, Northern, and Booker T. Washington elementary schools, Tates Creek and Leestown middle schools, and Tates Creek High School.
Finally, the Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council completed seven major projects during the past school year:
- Student Sustainability Leadership Academy, in partnership with Transylvania University;
- Rain Barrels for Sustainability, a partnership with the art department at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School;
- Town Branch Commons partner;
- Earth Day Idea Festival and Youth TED Talk;
- Energy audit of district offices and purchase of solar bricks for cellphone charging, to be checked out of high school libraries;
- Local Food Summit, partnering with the FFA chapter at Locust Trace; and
- Urban Forest Initiative film screening, in partnership with the University of Kentucky.
For questions about any of these awards or related initiatives in Fayette County Public Schools, please contact Tresine Logsdon, the district’s energy and sustainability curriculum coordinator.
