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Dr. E. L. Whigham Elementary on June 2 was recognized by National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program for exceptional achievement in educating for sustainability, improving the environmental footprint of the school grounds, facility and curriculum.
Whigham Elementary is the third school to receive this prestigious award in Miami-Dade County, and the ninth school so honored in the state of Florida.
“Our school joins more than 127 schools around the country to receive the Green Flag, the Eco-Schools highest honor,” said Adrian Delesdenier, lead Eco-School USA teacher at Whigham. “With more than 5,500 schools in all 50 states, the Eco-Schools USA program is based on the commitment and work of student-driven teams dedicated to issues such as reducing waste and consumption, climate resiliency, and environmental justice using audits, action plans, and other educational resources.”
To earn the Green Flag, Whigham Elementary students and faculty tackled a host of sustainability initiatives that began with forming an Eco-Action team; auditing environmental focus areas, and engaging and building community.
“National Wildlife Federation and Eco-Schools USA are proud of the example set by Dr. E. L. Whigham Elementary in Miami-Dade, FL,” said Elizabeth Soper, senior director of K-12 Education Programs. “This award demonstrates not only a commitment to sustainability and environmental literacy for students and faculty, but as well, recognition by the school community that environment-based education supports and provides an effective approach to student learning and leadership.”
These steps led to three main schoolwide environmental projects:
1. The establishment of a student-led paper and cardboard recycling program, which has so far diverted nearly one ton of these materials away from the landfills.
2. Integrating watershed study into the STEAM curriculum and taking positive actions toward the protection of the watershed.
3. Installation of a Pine Rockland habitat garden with more than 100 plants from this South Florida unique habitat to increase biodiversity on school grounds.
“It is no easy task for a school to receive the Eco-School USA Green Flag, but for the past four years, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. E. L. Whigham Elementary did it, when teachers, students, and the entire school community were under tremendous stress in light of so many unknowns,” said Maria Elena Garcia, South Florida Education manager.
“But the teachers and the school administration recognized the importance and health benefits of shifting from indoor teaching to taking learning outdoors as much as possible.
“In addition, because the Eco-School USA Green STEAM programming utilizes Project Based Learning (PBL) throughout the establishment of these schoolwide projects, the students have developed real life leadership skills and environmental stewardship.”
National Wildlife Federation was named the stateside host for the international Eco-Schools program in 2008. The International Eco-Schools program (http://www.ecoschools.global) is a network of over 56,000 K-12 schools in 70 nations, started in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) with support from the European Commission.
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