Welcome to the LCH Green Team
The Green Team is made up of students and parents interested in responsible stewardship of our natural resources. Our mission is to educate students and families about lifestyle choices that will benefit the environment and our health. If you would like to be part of the LCH Green Team or want to help in any way, please contact Camille Lofaro Sowinski.
We look forward to working together and making a difference.
Check out the LCH Green Team's Pollution Prevention video.
Current LCH Green Team Activities:
Lunchtime waste recycling and composting
The average school-aged child produces 67 pounds of trash per school year. Encinitas Union School District has adopted a policy of lunchtime waste reduction primarily based on the way kids at La Costa Heights recycle and compost their waste.
By recycling our waste items and composting our food scraps we have reduced our lunchtime trash form 16 bags to just two. Because of this reduction in waste, the school district has cut down the number of scheduled trash pick-ups to our campus and that has reduced the cost of waste service. This money goes back into our schools. The compost feeds our gardens.
Green Parties
We are also trying to reduce the waste accumulated by paper goods at class parties by maintaining a set of plastic, reusable cups and plates and real, but inexpensive, silverware and cloth napkins for the entire class. The set will stay with the teacher for the years to come. Some classrooms are purchasing these reusable sets on-line through a company called Kids Konserve and others are holding a classroom utensil drive where we ask parents to send one plastic plate and cup to school, a cloth napkin, and an inexpensive (or extra) silverware setting. It is understood that these items will not be returned at the end of the year.
Final Fridays
The Green Teams holds a spent batteries and plastic grocery bag collection the final Friday of each month. The LCH Green Team will collect your spent AAA, AA, C or D batteries and drop them off at our local recycling center. In order to offer this voluntary service, we must ask that each family bring no more than 10 batteries per scheduled “drop-off” day. We also ask that, for safety reasons, you please tape the ends of the batteries and place them in a plastic bag.
SchoolPool and Walk to School Wednesdays
We encourage our neighborhoods to organized walking groups on Wednesdays (and everyday) in order to save gas and reduce parking lot congestion and emissions.
We are also working with SANDAG to promote a new program called SchoolPool. LCH families can sign-up through a password-protected website to arrange neighborhood walking groups, locate carpool matches or find bike buddies. Early participants are eligible for prizes while supplies last.
When you register your family you have the choice to sign up as walkers or bikers. After you register you can go to the incentives/rewards area and pick out your goodies (helmets, baseball caps, reflective vests). The folks at SANDAG will then deliver the goodies to our school on September 20th. The website also maintains an active calendar where families can log their trips to and from school.
In October, San Diego schools will compete for a cash prize that will go to the school with the most recorded walks or bike trips. To participate, please download the LCH SchoolPool instruction sheet.The password for our school is lacosta. If you have any problems registering please contact our transportation coordinator (Camille Sowinski) or call 511 and say "SchoolPool".
Trash Patrols
Because La Costa Heights is a part of a coastal community, our students feel a strong connection to our local beaches. The Green Team provides many opportunities for students to learn about the harm that litter presents to our environment. Green Team offers storm water run-off presentations to our students and several times a year will sponsor beach cleanups or campus-wide cleanups.
Green Spot Award
The Green Team honors classrooms that are committed to making a meaningful green change with a Green Spot award. This award is hung in a place visible for all the school to see. The goal is to be a school committed to green change and covered in Green Spots.
If you have questions about recycling, please contact: I Love a Clean San Diego's recycling hotline.
Incorporated County Residents call: 1-800-237-BLUE
Unincorporated County Residents call: 1-877-R-1-EARTH
