Last year when educator Mike Town and his students asked the teachers of Redmond High School to reduce their carbon footprint through a month-long Cool Schools pledge, the 49 teachers at the school twice exceeded the pledge, each reducing an average 2,000 lbs of carbon dioxide that saved the school over $7,500 for the course of the school year.
The future of the Cool Schools Challenge is to spread it to other schools in Washington State and the rest of the nation. Through workshops and student presentations, 17 schools have already signed on to take the challenge and more are becoming involved.
Due to the success of this challenge, the students of Redmond High School were awarded the President's Environmental Youth Award, the most prestigious award of its kind. They were presented with this award from President George W. Bush and first lady, Laura Bush, for their outstanding achievements in reducing the school carbon footprint and spreading the Cool Schools Challenge to other schools. During their trip to Washington, DC, they met with Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and Congressman Jay Inslee. Their trip culminated on April 20th on the national mall where Mike Town and his students addressed the crowd of the EDN Green Apple Music Festival. We’re very proud of their work and look forward to spreading their message about the Cool Schools Challenge.
"The Earth Day rally was a memory that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Even though we were only up on stage for a minute, the experience of being in front of a crowd of thousands was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was surrounded by a group of people who were passionate about the environment and truly interested in what my group and I had to share. The energy from the music and entertainment, combined with the educational speakers and celebrities, was infectious. The whole day was both inspirational and memorable and has motivated me to fight even harder in the battle against global climate change. I thank Earth Day Network for this amazing opportunity that I will never forget."
