809-H Bay Avenue
Capitola, CA 95010
Central Phone: 479-5313
Product or service: Collaboration to establish waste reduction, resource conservation and environmental education at 5 pilot elementary school sites.
Award Status: Pioneer

The Public Schools Resource Conversation Program (RCP) is a collaboration between the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Ecology Action of Santa Cruz, and the Life Lab Science Program to establish waste reduction, resource conservation and environmental education programs at five (5) pilot elementary school sites.

Pilot sites are Brook Knoll, Live Oak, Main Street, Natural Bridges, and Valencia Elementary Schools. The RCP is funded by Santa Cruz County and the cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley.

During the 1997-8 school year, teacher leaders from the public school sites will work with teachers, students and community members to implement recycling and composting projects that both reduce the overall waste stream while providing academic opportunities that connect environmental education with the academic core curriculum.

For 1997-8, pilot schools will average 30% trash reduction per site, a total elimination of more than 125 tons of solid waste, resulting in a savings of more than $7,500.

The RCP provides a systemic approach to environmental stewardship education. Teachers will engage school children in a specially designed K- 6th grade curriculum, created through Life Lab Science Program and pilot-site lead teachers.

Ecology Action of Santa Cruz, 1996 SQA recipient for overall excellence in the non-profit organization category, is providing hands-on assistance with the school gardens, composting bins, and recycling operations.

Students throughout the county will have their turn as teachers at community-based workshops, sharing ways to reduce waste at home and in the workplace with parents and community members.

The pioneering success of the Resource Conservation Program in the five schools will serve as a benchmark for county-wide implementation of the program in the near future.