Alameda Pee Wee Power Savers Earn Emerald Green Schools Status

At , students take their role as "Pee Wee Power Savers" very seriously. 

Coordinator Terry Schneider said he knows that, because "parents come back and say we've created a monster." He has been told youngsters will run back into the house if they spot a light that's been left burning when the family leaves.

"Anything we say, they take it right to heart," Schneider said. 

The school was recognized this year as Michigan Green School at the Emerald level. The state-wide program, established in 2010, offers three levels of achievement – Green, Emerald and Evergreen – based on activities like establishing a student organization, recycling, energy conservation and environmental protection. 

Director Nancy Ely said children are given different jobs in each classroom, and one of those is "Pee Wee Power Saver".

"Their job is to turn the lights off when they leave the classroom, or the media center or the gym," Ely said. 

Friday is recycling day, and selected students go from classroom to classroom collecting items that are taken to a large bin outside the school. When the program started, Schneider said, the school would fill about half of a 55-gallon container. 

"Now, we're up to three or four bins a week," he said. "You see the biggest smiles on the kids' faces ... We go outside, and they get to see the big bin we're throwing (everything) in to." 

Schneider said children are also taught how to recycle and get into the mindset to not just throw everything away. They're shown how to sort recyclables and told where paper comes from, he added. The school recycles plastic, paper, aluminum, styrofoam, drink boxes and cardboard. 

Alameda launched its program after elementary buildings started organizing their Green Teams. "We felt this would be so strong of a thing to put in place," Schneider said, "so when they do get into elementary school, they've got a start."

"If you can build that interest in them so young, it's going to take them into the future," he added. "Their minds are like sponges."