Launch of TerraCycle Program

Green Club just launched its TerraCycle waste distribution program in the past few weeks! Even while exposure to the program is only developing, considerable quantities of waste materials have been collected. Each month, we’ll update the blog with the quantities collected for the various TerraCycle tracks (each track represents a different brand of products’ packages that we collect and ship to TerraCycle).

(TerraCycle is a company that collects recyclable waste packages and materials and integrates them into their various products. Periodically, we ship packages containing these waste materials, like wrappers or bottles, to the TerraCycle headquarters in Trenton, New Jersey).

Tracks Signed Up For:

Scotch Tape

MOM Cereal

Lärabar/Cascadian Farm

Bear Naked

Colgate

Honest Kids

Entenmann’s Little Bites

GoGo Squeez

Writing Instruments (currently on waiting list)

Capri Sun

Clif Bar (currently on waiting list)

Sensible Portions/Garden of Eatin’/Terra Chips (currently on waiting list)

Tom’s of Maine

Quantity Collected:

Scotch Tape – 0

MOM Cereal – 0

Lärabar/Cascadian Farm – 4

Bear Naked – 0

Colgate – 0

Honest Kids – 0

Entenmann’s Little Bites – 0

GoGo Squeez – 0

Writing Instruments – 0

Capri Sun – 0

Clif Bar – 14

Sensible Portions/Gardin of Eatin’/Terra Chips – 2

Total – 20 Items (20 TerraCycle points)

 

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Unofficial 09/06 Brainstorming Session

Initially I figured that it would be a good idea to have a brainstorming session with our club advisor, Michael, Sam, Chelsea, Hallie, and Julie Jarvis from Sustain Dane to formulate some kind of plan for the school year. So when I walked into the room, I wasn’t expecting to find several other club members present. In hindsight, I’m really glad that things worked out the way they did because we had an awesome brainstorming session!!!

Ultimately, we discussed three things:

1) The Green House
-we discussed our goals for the green house/why we want a green house (establish a legacy, bring the school community together)
-discussed a rooftop garden or ground garden option (we need to further research this)
-will receive a list of MMSD school gardens to obtain a flavor of the various varieties/what we want to start
this is our long term goal for the year

2) The Recycling/Trash Crisis
-Awesome Rap video to play for the school (like the EDUCATE video) about recycling vs. throwing things out (Gabe is going to start this – there will be rapper tryouts…)
-Talking to Freshman Advisories (Brett is going to start this)
-Announcements on School TVs (Sam?)
-West HOUSE activity? (unless people will resist this one…)
this is our short term goal for the year

3) Outreach (barely touched on)
-going to middle schools and elementary schools to talk about environmentalism
–more outreach within our own school community

I also updated the ‘Members’ section. Check it out!

Our club also found out that West won $1,000 because we had the second largest energy consumption drop during the 2012-13 school year in relation to 2011-12. Nice work everyone!

I’d like to end this post and begin the school year with the following quote by Steve Jobs:
“The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do”

I’m looking forward accomplishing a lot this year with my fellow “crazy people” 🙂

Sevahn Vorperian – President
Feel free to email the club at mwhgreenclub@gmail.com 

4/26 Meeting Summary

1) Electronic Recycling Drive last Saturday was a success! We raised $645 and collected 1 ton of ewaste! These funds will be a major help for the greenhouse project. The Madison West High Green Club would like to extend a HUGE THANKS to St. Vincent DePaul and Marianne Gariti for all the help. Our recycling drive wouldn’t have been such a success without them!

2) We started researching the GREENHOUSE!!! We discussed potential locations, took measurements, researched various greenhouses (we’re debating between a DIY or an assembly), and thought about how we were going to hook up a rain barrel to the whole setup. We want this to be 100% self sustainable.

This is SO exciting. It should be really fun to start the greenhouse project. My middle school had a garden and it was incredible to watch it bring together not only the school community, but also the neighborhood community. One major objective with the green house is that it generates enough vegetables to supply a family of 4 – we want the knowledge of conservation/how we’re planting everything to be accessible and well known to the school community. After all, not only are we working to conserve our resources, but educate others while we’re doing it! We’ll keep posting with updates and pictures!

 

‘electronic recycling drive’ tab

One more thing – check out the electronic recycling drive tab at the top of our home page for additional information to the post below! See you Saturday!

Electronic Recycling Drive – April 20, 2013

As you can see by the countdown on the left hand sidebar, there will be an ELECTRONIC RECYCLING DRIVE this SATURDAY APRIL 20 from 8AM-1PM. This event will take place at the MADISON WEST HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER’S PARKING LOT located at the intersection of VAN HISE AVE and HIGHLAND.

As a rule of thumb, we will accept ANYTHING WITH A PLUG THAT ACCEPTS BATTERIES UNDER 75 LBS. If you have questions, feel free to send an email to mwhgreenclub@gmail.com.

This fundraiser is a huge deal because we’re trying to raise money for a school green house! We’re asking for a suggested minimum donation of $10. Note that there is a mandatory fee of $15 for small TVs and $30 for large TVs. Last year, we managed to prevent over 2 tons of electronic waste from going into landfills. Let’s make it 5 tons this year!

Below is a list of accepted items. Please send an email to mwhgreenclub@gmail.com if you have an item that you’re concerned will not be accepted.

• Computers

• Laptops

• Printers (desktop only)

• Servers

• Cables & cable boxes

• Computer peripherals

• Computer parts

• Cash registers

• Cellular phones

• Computer peripherals

• All computer parts

• Christmas lights

• Copiers

• Cords

• CRT monitors

• DVD players

• External drives (all types)

• Fax machines & scanners

• Keyboards

• LCD monitors

• Mice & pointing devices

• MP3 players & iPods, etc.

• Networking equipment

• PDAs

• Printer & toner cartridges

• Projectors

• Satellite dishes

• Stereos

• Typewriters

• UPS units (Uninterruptible Power Supplies)

• VCRs

• Video game consoles

• Microwaves

• Ink Cartridges

• Batteries

  We are able to recycle TVs up to 75 pounds with a mandatory fee.

•    Small TVs – 0 – 24 pounds:  $15   
•     Large TVs – 25 – 75 pounds:  $30
  We cannot accept Console TVs 

See you Saturday! Again, feel free to email with questions.

Green Energy 2013: Summary and Pictures

Madison West High School won the 2013 Green Energy Competition against Memorial! Nice work everyone! The amount of support and participation from the student body – the head principal making announcements, teachers shutting off their lights, 400+ students pledging to help out, members of Green Club religiously manning the pledge station, and students reminding teachers to shut off the lights and helping with blind opening – was FANTASTIC!

One of the major challenges with a school-wide competition is to harness enough momentum to plow through the week. Let’s briefly examine our numbers:

Day	Date of Competion	kWh Competition Day	Baseline Date	kWh Baseline Day	Difference	% Change from Baseline	Avoided Carbon (metric tons)	Avoided Cost
		(7am-5pm)		(7am-5pm)			(metric tons)	(assuming $0.12/kWh)
TUESDAY	2/12/13	3136.68	2/14/12	3855.81	-719.13	-18.65%	-0.54	-86.30	-0.11
WEDNESDAY	2/13/13	3200.95	2/15/12	3748.40	-547.45	-14.60%	-0.41	-65.69	-0.08
THURSDAY	2/14/13	3251.02	2/16/12	3808.88	-557.86	-14.65%	-0.42	-66.94	-0.08
FRIDAY	2/15/13	3142.32	2/17/12	3771.08	-628.76	-16.67%	-0.47	-75.45	-0.09
OVERALL	2/12/13-2/15/13	12730.97	2/14/12-2/17/12	15184.17	-2453.20	-16.16%	-1.85	-294.38	-0.36
TOTAL BOTH SCHOOLS	2/12/13-2/15/13	30345.63	2/14/12-2/17/12	34224.35	-3878.72	-11.33%	-2.93	-465.45	-0.58

On the first day, we reduced our electricity consumption by 18.65% in relation to 2/13/2012. We were all pretty excited, but could we keep it up?

We sure did; on both Wednesday and Thursday, we remained at a constant 14% reduction. In relation to last year’s Green Week, we slowly died down over the week – but this year, we remained constant.

Then, on Friday, we went back up to 16.67% reduction in relation to 2/17/2012 – we were able to further reduce our energy consumption!

On the Facebook page, students reported that they enjoyed having fewer lights on. Classrooms felt more “relaxing” and both teachers and students realized that several light sources in our building really don’t need to be on. Our hope is that people will continue to maintain their pledges and that teachers will continue to use reduced lighting, as our school saved a total of $294.38 just by cutting a few lights.

Between West and Memorial, 3878.72 kWh of energy were NOT used. Therefore, we avoided 2.93 metric tons of carbon emissions. This is the equivalent of taking a car off the road for MORE THAN HALF A YEAR. We shut off some lights, saved money, and helped the planet.

It wasn’t that hard; we just have to make this a habit. Hallways were just fine to walk in with reduced lights:

     Classrooms were more than visible:

We got over 400+ pledges:

AND, we had a ton of fun making this happen:

On behalf of the Madison West Green Club:

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN! Incredible things (like this) are only possible when we come together and work hard. In the words of Ghandi (and the excellent reminders in Mr. Grady’s classroom):

we must be the change we wish to see in this world.

Cheers!

Sevahn and Amy
emails: kayaneh@gmail.com and amy.h.hua@gmail.com

Green Energy Competition: Day 1-3 Results

Today marked the end of the 2013 Green Energy Competition between two major rival schools in Madison, Wisconsin – West High and Memorial. I will post the final results of the competition over the weekend as we find out more information. After winning the first three days of the competition, the Madison West Green Club is incredibly excited to learn how we did on Day 4 and overall!

Yesterday was yet another successful day of the Green Energy Competition! We maintained a 15% reduction in West High’s total energy consumption. Over merely three days, we – collectively as a school – saved nearly 2,000 kilowatt-hours of energy, more than what two average households consume in a month!! The energy data was measured throughout the competition by a meter that the McKinstry company/People.Power.Planet initiative installed at West last year. Click here for more information about the units with which we measured energy consumption.

I’m so impressed by the amount of enthusiasm that our club members, student body, and staff displayed throughout the event. Everyone’s energy (sorry, bad pun) and how devotedly everyone united to meet a common goal was absolutely amazing to witness!

Madison West Green Club

So, here are the data for the first three days of the Competition (they do not include today’s results). I will post the overall energy conservation (of both West and Memorial) as soon as I get the information this weekend!

WEST (02/14):

February 14, 2013 (7am-5pm)	February 16, 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
3,251.02 kWh	3,808.88 kWh	-557.86 kWh	14.6%

MEMORIAL (02/14):

February 14, 2013 (7am-5pm)	February 16, 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
4,431.08 kWh	4,797.27 kWh	-366.19 kWh	7.6%

OVERALL WEST (02/12 – 02/14):

Electricity Use 2013 (7am-5pm)	Electricity Use 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
9588.65 kWh	11,413.09 kWh	1,824.44 kWh	16.0%

OVERALL MEMORIAL (02/12 – 02/14):

Electricity Use 2013 (7am-5pm)	Electricity Use 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	%Change from baseline
13,244.55 kWh	14,244.81 kWh	1,000.26 kWh	7.0%

Thank you again to everyone who made the Green Energy Competition possible – teachers, students, pledgers, custodial/maintenance staff, and more – and James Madison Memorial for working with us to inspire energy conservation in our schools! Hopefully, the event has energized everyone involved to be more conscious about their actions and their energy expenditure and helped everyone realize that change really does begin with the individual!

Cheers,

Amy Hua
amy.h.hua@gmail.com
amy_hua

West High in the Lead!

Fantastic job, everybody – students, teachers, custodial/maintenance staff, and everyone else involved in the Green Energy Competition between West and Memorial! The competition started Tuesday and tomorrow (Friday) will be the last day.

So far, we have collected nearly 400 pledges to help West conserve energy – way to go, Regents! Tomorrow will be the last day to pledge to conserve energy at West (and be green in general), so stop by the Ash Street entrance before school and during lunch to sign up! It’s really simple; all you need to do is pledge to, for example, turn off lights in all your classrooms or remind teachers to turn down their thermostats. You get a sticker and magnet just for pledging!

On Tuesday, West consumed nearly 19% less energy (or 720 kilowatt-hours) than it did last year in February, while Memorial reduced their school’s energy consumption by about 6%.

WEST (02/12):

February 12, 2013 (7am-5pm)	February 14, 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
3,136.68 kWh	3,855.81 kWh	-719.13 kWh	18.65% decrease

MEMORIAL (02/12):

February 12, 2013 (7am-5pm)	February 14, 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
4,404.61 kWh	4,665.42 kWh	-260.81 kWh	5.59% decrease

Yesterday, West remained in the lead with a 15% reduction in energy reduction (550 kilowatt-hours), and Memorial reduced theirs by 8%.

WEST (02/13):

February 13, 2013 (7am-5pm)	February 15, 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
3,200.95 kWh	3,748.40 kWh	-547.45 kWh	14.6% decrease

MEMORIAL (02/13):

February 13, 2013 (7am-5pm)	February 15, 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
4,408.86 kWh	4,782.12 kWh	-373.26 kWh	7.8%

And, overall, West remains in the lead with a 10% margin, so let’s continue our efforts and keep up the momentum, West!

OVERALL WEST (02/12 and 02/13):

Electricity Use 2013 (7am-5pm)	Electricity Use 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	% Change from baseline
6,337.63 kWh	7,604.21 kWh	1,266.58 kWh	16.7% decrease

OVERALL MEMORIAL (02/12 and 02/13):

Electricity Use 2013 (7am-5pm)	Electricity Use 2012 (7am-5pm)	Difference	%Change from baseline
8,813.47 kWh	9,447.54 kWh	-634.07 kWh	6.7%

We are on our way to winning the Green Energy Competition, but Memorial’s catching up to us fast! Let’s make sure they don’t close in on our margin of victory!

Stay green,
Amy Hua
amy.h.hua@gmail.com

Green Energy Competition!

Get ready for the 2013 Green Energy Competition between West High and Memorial High! The school that reduces its school-day energy consumption by the largest margin over Tuesday, February 12th to Friday, February 15th will receive a grant of money to further green the school.

To help us win, Green Club developed a pledge drive to directly involve the student body and staff; the Pledge Drive started yesterday (February 6th) and will continue until next Friday (February 15th). In just two days, we have collected nearly 150 pledges from students and teachers at West! Popular pledges include reminding teachers to turn off their lights, dressing in layers so teachers can turn down the thermostat, helping teachers pull up blinds to use natural light, and volunteering to turn off computers after school.

If you haven’t yet pledged to help Green Club win the Green Energy Competition, no worries! We’ll be at the Ash Street entrance before school and during lunch all through next Friday, February 15th, so hope to see you there! Also, help us spread the word by telling your friends and teachers about the Competition and by inviting your friends to join the official Facebook event.

Feel free to email us at mwhgreenclub@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas!

See everyone at the Pledge Drive, and let’s win the Green Energy Competition for West!!
Amy Hua

1/31 Meeting with Holmes (just Amy & Sevahn)

Amy and I had a meeting with Mr. Holmes today to discuss our upcoming Green Energy Competition against Memorial, and we want everyone to be on the same page (here are the meeting notes).

Agenda:
1) permission to reduce hallway lights (talk to custodians)
2) announcement to address students and teachers
3) teacher involvement
4) heaters ==> have the teachers turn the thermostats down!

To Do:
Monday 2/4 (afterschool): Amy and Sevahn will talk to the custodians to get some over-lighted rooms shut off
Thursday 2/7 (lunch): GROUP MEETING IN MR. MERLINE’S ROOM! BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!
finalize plans for following week and pledge stuff
Friday 2/8 (2nd half of day): Attend the Midwinter Aud to scout and see if the Steven’s Gym is still over lighted.

we need people on ash before school/during lunch during 2/6-2/8 & 2/11-2/14 to collect pledges. please stick to your shift (or else…)! we’ll have a signup on face book and at the meeting tomorrow.

Cozy Sweater idea/equivalent.

We will have some goodies (announced at meeting, not blog) to keep the enthusiasm going 😉

See you at the meeting tomorrow – please be there – If we really want to win the $3,000 – we’re really going to have to work to get this!

Amy & Sevahn
amy.h.hua@gmail.com & kayaneh@gmail.com