Seven county public schools have been added to the distinguished list of Maryland Green Schools, the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) has announced. The latest schools to earn the achievement are: Brooklyn Park, Crofton Meadows, Jessup, Rippling Woods, and Waugh Chapel elementary schools; Central Middle School; and Severna Park High School.
In addition, ten other AACPS schools achieved recertification. Belvedere, Central, Hebron-Harman, Jones, Linthicum, Nantucket, Piney Orchard, Ridgeway, and Rolling Knolls elementary schools and Arundel High School were each certified for the second time.
With 75 schools and centers now with green schools status, nearly 63 percent of AACPS facilities have completed the challenging process to earn the state’s highest recognition of environmental literacy.
The green school designation is earned over the course of about two years as schools establish an effective, proactive environmental program that includes getting the entire community involved in becoming more environmentally conscious. Successful schools integrate “green” thinking into every aspect of the school experience from staff professional development to community celebrations.
Established 16 years ago, the Maryland Green School Program celebrates Maryland’s model environmental education efforts as seen through extensive projects that address at least two of the following areas: energy, water, waste, habitat restoration, transportation, healthy school environment, and/or structures for outdoor learning. After demonstrating a sustained culture of environmental action and awareness, schools are encouraged to seek recertification every four years.