March Green School of the Month Award

Congratulations to March's Green School of the Month, Parkway North High School

EcoLifeSTL.com would like to congratulate teacher Andrew Duggan as well as all of the staff and students at Parkway North High School for all of their green efforts to support the environment.

Support and participation for sustainable resource use and education at Parkway North occurs at all levels. From the Superintendents office to the Board of Education, District Facilities Department, the North High Administrative team, the faculty, student body and our custodial staff (the unsung heroes), Parkway North employs the concept of “it takes a village.”

Examples of Parkway North green efforts include:

• School wide recycling of paper, cardboard, aluminum and plastics
• Use of compact florescent lighting in open areas
• Use of a “building automation system” to reduce energy use by the HVAC system
• Monthly aluminum can collections as a fundraiser by the science department
• Naturescaping of the campus including, a peace garden, a rain garden, a native plant garden and treescaping for wildlife and thermal conservation
• The Parkway North Recycling Club, an extracurricular group dedicated to enhancing school recycling efforts.
• “Envirothon” an extracurricular opportunity for students to learn environmental science in depth and compete with other schools. North’s teams have finished 2nd, 4th and 13th in the North American competition.
• The Lexus “Eco Challenge” Teams: two of the teams are recent winners out of only 16 nationally. One group’s emphasis is on water conservation. To see more please go to teamecos.org.
  The other group focuses on native plantings. To learn more go to teamneon.org. Solar panels will be installed at North High in the near future with part of their prize money.
• North High School will soon be conducting “on-site in-vessel food compacting” (part of a grant Awarded by St. Louis Jefferson Solid Waste Management District).

Most importantly, there is a “green ethic” that persists among the people who inhabit Parkway North High School. Students and staff alike participate in all of the efforts mentioned. This green spirit has been growing over the years and continues today.