Valdez Elementary is showing how sustainability is done, and it starts with second graders.
This year, in an effort to reduce food waste, Valdez started a compost coordinators program where each second grade class selected two coordinators. Kolby, Soledad, William and Zia now oversee the disposal of waste during their lunch period, instructing their peers to separate compostable materials from trash with a watchful eye on the compost bin to ensure their guidance is followed.
One of the coordinators, Zia, explained why composting matters: “If we put food and trash together, it will go to the landfill and the food doesn’t compost very easily in the trash because of the plastic. That’s trash land,” she explained. “If that happens, it will make stinky gases that go up in the air and make the planet feel bad.”
Since its launch earlier this year, the program has been embraced by second graders, who have quickly learned how to make a sustainable impact during lunch each day. Zia proudly shared that it has been more than five weeks since they have had to fish out any non-compostable items–like forks–from the bin.
In addition to the composting efforts, Valdez has started incorporating a share table, thanks to a collaboration with local organization, We Don’t Waste. Students contribute uneaten food in its original packaging or purchased from the school to the share table throughout the lunch day. The food is then stored for use during after school programming.
These initiatives are an extension of previous efforts to cut back on food waste. According to Laura Calderon, a parent leading sustainability efforts at Valdez, each classroom was producing an estimated 80 pounds of food waste per month.
“I think things can be done better,” Laura said. “We’re running out of space in the city in the landfills. This is for the future generations.”
Last school year, Laura and Paulina Rodriguez Canizares, a fellow parent, came up with the idea for each classroom to have a reusable set of dishes, cups and cutlery for monthly birthday celebrations.
They applied for and received a grant through the DPS Climate Champions program, which funds opportunities for DPS students to implement climate action in their schools.
This grant also allowed them to create an environmental club, reduce waste during school wide events and purchase a dishwasher for the teachers’ lounge, making clean up more manageable for paraprofessionals and teachers. They appointed student ambassadors within each classroom through the Valdez Eco Explorers program, the environmental club, to advocate for the use of the reusable kits.
A large function of the eco explorers program is ensuring Valdez events are also keeping sustainability at the forefront. These students have worked with external organizations like R Cup and Scraps, which provide recyclable materials and support for events. The goal is to hire Scraps for events so the eco explorers can focus on enjoying the events while the organization manages the recycling efforts.
“The parents tell [the eco explorer] to go run and play and the students are adamant on staying,” Laura shared. “They want to make a change and teach other students what to do.”
Laura has seen the growth in the students’ leadership since the program's introduction, describing their flourishment into serious, dedicated leaders who are proud of their jobs.
The school was recently visited by the city of Denver’s Touch-a-Truck program, which allowed students to see one of the city’s composting trucks up close and personal, and for students to learn more about the city’s sustainability and composting efforts. The city has since donated several composting bins to the school to help with their initiatives.
The impact of these efforts can be felt in every classroom and has become a topic of discussion for each. ECE students from Ms. Amelia’s class are familiar with how composting works and why it is important. Ms. Amelia said her students are going to be so excited when the flowers bloom at the school's garden to see the full-circle impact of composting firsthand.
While the impact is already far-reaching, the eco explorers will focus on expanding the composting coordinators program in the next year. Coordinators from second, third and fourth grade will join the effort, with current second graders training the new recruits. The students also plan to reduce landfill waste further by stacking and separating bulky disposable trays for more efficient disposal.