One of the standouts from the many fantastic presentations given at the Behavior Change for a Sustainable World conference at the beginning of the month came from Brian Cooper and his team at Stanley Middle School. In his first year as a math teacher at Stanley Middle School, Brian Cooper found himself surrounded by collaborative and optimistic people who weren't afraid to ask questions and do some problem solving. A passionate group of 8th grade students met during their lunch break each week and created a plan to implement a new waste management system for the 1200 students on their campus. Realizing and utilizing their surrounding green infrastructure was critical for success. They conducted a waste audit with EarthTeam, met with the community members of Sustainable Lafayette, took council from the county's WasteBusters, and learned from the practices of their friends at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School.
More than 1500 pounds of food were collected for energy conversion during the final eight weeks of the 2011-2012 academic year. Goals for 2012-2013 include sustaining the practice, making it more efficient, and providing more opportunities for students to reflect on the meaningfulness of the practice through concepts and metrics.
Please see the following video depicting their successful program.
