Portland Public Schools

I am a teacher with the Sun (Students Uniting Neighborhoods) program @ Sabin Elementary School in NE Portland, I also am in charge of the snack, before we go to our classrooms. I started noticing things that were not sustainable, especially the styrofoam plates and the incredible amount of food that is thrown away, so I called Nancy Bond the head of PPS's Sustainable department and I asked her a few questions, like why styrofoam, that is really bad for the environment, it is not degradable. She told me that by the end of 2010 PPS will be going to sustainable trays, and there is really no way to police the food that is tossed, so 4 times a year PPS donates food and money to the food banks. I was glad to hear that.

I didn't get to do the activity that I wanted to do with my kids and this project, but I did ask them questions about the world that they wanted their world to be. One wanted a world full of video games and cats. But for the most part, all of them recycle at home. and are quite knowledgeable about the environment. Their parents are adept at teaching them to leave a smaller carbon foot print. I was pleasantly surprised.