by MacKenzie Sackett | The concept of “going green” has been a huge topic over the last few years. It is time for schools to start doing what they can to be environmentally friendly. Liberty High is leading the pack in the metro area.

“I have tasked Joey Wheelhouse, who is our Student Council Executive President to research green schools, because I would like to infuse as many elements as we can with the green school initiative into our school,” Dr. April Adams said. “And that’s really looking at, what elements of our environment can we bring from the outdoors, indoors to help stimulate learning and enhance the school, not only esthetically but also looking at the air conditions and those kinds of things. We also want to see what are some things we can do…to incorporate projects that are more recycle-oriented.”

According to The Center For Green Schools, schools that take on the “green initiative” can actually help preserve the environment. Schools that go green not only conserve energy and water but they also lessen the overall environmental impacts through responsible approaches to the building site and local ecosystems.

“I did some research on how schools can become more green and I found some benefits of putting plants up in the school and using food scraps as compost for healthier gardens,” senior Joey Wheelhouse said.

Schools that go green can actually help the planet by reducing energy use, water use and solid waste. They also help save taxpayers money by conserving energy.

“Plants reduce oxygen into the air and clean the school’s air. Putting scraps on soil in gardens help keep bugs off of them so that way you don’t have to use chemicals instead,” Wheelhouse said.

LHS has been very involved with recycling for the past few years. Recycling programs that involve students directly teach responsible environmental habits they can apply at home. Diverting solid waste from landfills reduces impacts on municipal services.

Having a greener school not only helps the environment it also helps students learn better.

“I had read a study by NASA that talked about how bringing in greenery can have a high impact on your air quality because through the photosynthesis process, plants clean the air. So if you have more oxygenated cleaner air, what happens to the learning environment? You have a higher degree of learning environment because you have cleaner air, there’s more oxygen flowing into the air,” Adams said.

Also, according to The Center For Green Schools, healthy indoor air quality and classroom acoustics are just two elements of green schools that can contribute directly to enhanced student and teacher performance. Fewer sick days for teachers and students makes for an even better education for students.