Anchor Bay Elementary Schools Going Green, Saving Money

The district colors maybe be red and white, but the elementary schools of Anchor Bay are proving that they are very green.

The March 1 deadline to apply for the Michigan Green School Initiatives is fast approaching, and AB Elementaries are ready for the challenge.

"We all have that responsibility to take care of the environment for the generations to come. It becomes their personal responsibility," said Marie DeWitte, director of Elementary Eduction for the district.

Going Green, and Emerald, and Evergreen.

When a school applies to the MGSI, they are examined to see if they meet certain criteria, and then awarded one of three rankings; Green, Emerald, or the top honor, Evergreen.

"We are all into environmental conservation. We do assemblies relating to protecting the environment, poster contests, competitions, and various other things at each grade level," said DeWitte.

Last year, six of eight elementary schools in the district received colors for their work. Anchor Bay was awarded one Green, four Emerald, and one Evergreen honor, going to Great Oaks Elementary. This year five of the seven schools are being considered for colors.

"The whole focus is to bring awareness to students," said DeWitte. "It's about getting them to help preserve the planet and make it better."

Going green helps get out of the red

One added benefit of the schools becoming eco-friendly is the reduction of costs due to energy conservation.

"We over the last three years have saved a huge amount of money, on everything from room temperature to lighting," said DeWitte. The school district has recently installed timed and remote controls for heating and lighting systems to reduce energy costs.

"We've saved just under a million dollars over the last three years," said Kyle Anderson, director of Business Services for Anchor Bay.

"I really think the awareness of recycling and energy conservation is interesting," said Dewitte. "We have an enormous amount of students bringing in things to recycle, and it makes them aware of the things that can be recycled. It's the numbers and the statistics that go with recycling that really have an impact on them."

Other topics the students are learning about include the impact of transportation on the environment, compost systems, and studying the local watershed.