With summer winding down and area students heading back to the classroom, the Clean Air Partnership is pleased to shine a spotlight on local schools who’ve implemented sustainability projects and made positive impacts on air quality. As a proud supporter of the Green Schools Quest, an annual project-based, student-driven challenge to devise and implement no-to-low-cost sustainability projects over a six-month period, we’re thrilled to congratulate Pershing Elementary School in University City for its air quality-friendly achievements.
During the 2023-2024 school year, Pershing Elementary was awarded the “Rookie of the Year” Spotlight Award in the Green Schools Quest. Participation in the Quest aligned well with the school’s mission to provide joyful and meaningful learning opportunities for its students by allowing them to drive the project from their own interests. The winning project – under the guidance of Lora Davenport, School Lead and Sustainability Facilitator, Principal Deitra Colquitt and Green Mentor Anne Cummings – entailed creating an afterschool program where students had the opportunity to gather with peers from their grade level and pursue sustainability initiatives.
“Pershing Elementary’s project is an excellent example of what is possible when teachers and administrators collaborate and put kids first,” said Deborah Rogers Curtis, Green Schools Coordinator for the Missouri Gateway Green Building Council. “Their after-school program met a need of the students and also introduced them to new concepts that will stick with them for years to come.”
At the beginning of the club’s program, students wrote an “I wish” statement about something they wanted to change at school. Then, they used the engineering process to find a solution. The overall goal of the afterschool club was to ensure a healthier campus for all students through the resolution of some of the identified problems, and each grade level focused on a different sustainability initiative.
For example, kindergarten students inspired by a visiting eighth grade student took on the project of removing styrofoam trays from the cafeteria. This was a great step towards improving air quality since the styrofoam manufacturing process releases large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, second and third graders focused on recycling to promote waste reduction efforts important to minimizing the amount of trash that ends up in toxic landfills. Fourth and fifth graders also worked to attract birds to campus, which helps support healthy ecosystems that produce cleaner air.
“The Clean Air Partnership is excited to collaborate with the Green Schools Quest to share the great work being accomplished by schools across the bi-state region,” said Susannah Fuchs, Director of Clean Air for the American Lung Association in Missouri. “The project at Pershing Elementary is an inspiring example of how young people can practice sustainability and truly make a difference in their communities.”
Registration for the 2024-2025 Green Schools Quest is now open, with the deadline to sign up on September 15. For more information on the Quest and Pershing Elementary’s sustainability project, visit www.showmegreenschools.org/gsq/. To learn more about the link between sustainability and air quality, explore our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @gatewaycleanair.
