
Coles
Elementary
School
is
an
environmentally-oriented
school
with
many
sustainability
programs
in
place
that
help
reduce
their
carbon
footprint.
They
have
recently
added
a
school-wide
composting
program.
With
all
students
involved,
the
program
is
the
first
of
its
kind
in
the
School
Division.
Kindergarten
teacher
Ramona
Richardson
has
led
many
of
the
sustainability
programs
at
Coles
Elementary.
The
composting
program
has
been
on
the
school's
radar
for
a
while,
but
funding
has
been
a
challenge.
After
hearing
about
the
initiative,
the
School
Division's
Office
of
Energy
Management
and
Sustainability
stepped
in
to
fund
two
industrial-sized
composting
tumblers.
"With
the
school-wide
composting
program,
our
students
learn
that
they
can
make
a
difference
in
making
less
trash
by
recycling
their
organic
food
waste,
and
in
the
process,
make
compost
which
will
enrich
the
soil
in
our
nine
school
gardens,"
Richardson
said.
"A
child
old
enough
to
throw
trash
away
is
old
enough
to
sort
paper
from
plastic,
turn
off
lights
when
not
in
a
room,
and
learn
how
to
compost.
We
teach
that
caring
for
our
environment
is
a
part
of
our
daily
routine
and
not
just
reserved
for
Earth
Day."
Colgan
High
School
junior
Daniel
Buongiovanni
jumped
at
the
opportunity
to
help
with
the
composting
program
too;
his
contributions
are
part
of
his
Eagle
Scout
project
for
the
Boy
Scouts.
"I
wanted
to
do
my
project
there
because
my
siblings
and
I
have
been
attending
Coles
for
the
last
10
years,"
Daniel
shared.
Daniel
organized
and
led
his
scout
troop
in
assembling
the
composting
tumblers.
He
also
obtained
two
trash
barrels
and
adapted
them
to
collect
the
organic
food
waste
from
the
cafeteria.
Flyers,
designed
by
Daniel,
are
posted
on
the
barrels
to
remind
students
which
foods
can
and
cannot
be
collected.
A
visual
flow
chart
shows
the
path
that
the
diverted
food
waste
will
take
once
it
leaves
the
school's
cafeteria.
The
school
will
be
conducting
an
audit
at
the
end
of
the
school
year
to
determine
how
much
food
was
recycled
and
how
much
compost
was
created
for
their
gardens.