Whiz Kids: Sammamish Schools Earn Recognition From King County for Conservation Efforts

Students in the  are on summer vacation. But recently, two of the district schools in Sammamish received kudos in the environmental department.

Sammamish Patch thought it would be fitting that the students, staff and teachers from both schools be honored this week.

Schools: and .

Accomplishments: Sunny Hills Elementary and Creekside Elementary earned recognition from King County’s Green Schools Program for successful conservation efforts. 

Sunny Hills was honored for completing Level One, which includes initiating or improving recycling programs and focusing on waste reduction.

Creekside was honored for completing Level Two, which includes completing energy conservation criteria.

“We’re really excited by it,” Sunny Hills Elementary Principal Sarah White said of the recognition.

“We love it,” Creeekside Elementary Principal Robin Earle said.

Key to awesomeness: Sunny Hills earned the recognition in part by instituting a composting program in their lunchroom. King County provided composting bins and training for the student council, which in turn worked to train the rest of the students.

White gave the student council a lot of credit for the success of the program.

“We just kicked it off really well with the help of our student council,” she said.

Creekside Elementary also made a strong effort to reuse and recycle paper, which accounted for a huge reduction in the school’s paper use.

White said her school's student body took to the various recycling efforts quickly. “They responded really well,” she said.

She also credited faculty and staff for the success of their programs and the community in general for a green mindset. 

“It is very important to the Sammamish community as a whole,” White said.

Newly-opened Creekside Elementary was designed from the start to be a green school, Earle, the school's principal, said. Conservation was planned for and built into the school, but that was just one part of earning the school Level Two recognition so quickly.

“What the kids do is above and beyond that,” she said.

The school worked to integrate conservation and lessons and practices into the daily curriculum.

“The students are very excited about learning more about recycling and putting it into practice,” Earle said. “These are very self-motivated students.”

Both schools are continuing to improve their green practices, and both groups of students are eager to move up to the next level of recognition.

“They know that they’re making a difference,” Earle said.

Editor's note: In April, Creekside's custodian, Dave Holbrook, received an "Earth Hero at School" award for his efforts to help the environment.