Youth Education and Improvement Grants

Recycling—Collect paper, bottles, and cans separately to ensure they don’t go into the garbage.  Proceeds from redeeming bottle and can deposits are able to fund school environmental efforts or other school programs.

Develop a school wide recycling program. Procure (gloves, pickers, carts) to facilitate separation of recyclable materials from the garbage. Note: School and classroom  recycling containers can be ordered for free at: www.sanjoseca.gov/esd/schools

Waste Diversion—Learn about alternatives to sending waste to landfills, the environmental challenges associated with waste, and the impact of student behavior on changing waste generation.

Take a field trip to a local Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where material is processed and sorted.

Composting—Learn about how to transform organic material into amendments for soil to increase soil’s productivity.

Install vermicomposting (composting using worms) or composting bin(s) in classroom(s). 

Garden with the use of classroom generated compost to see the impact that compost has on plant growth.

Waste Reduction—Learn how to minimize the creation waste through conscious usage of resources.

Organize a school campaign to educate students about the waste generated by plastic bottles. School competitions can encourage students to switch from single use plastic bottles to reusable water bottles.

Encourage students and teachers to only print/copy on both sides of paper (double sided printing)..

Encourage students to pack a waste free lunch (switch from single-use disposable containers to reusable containers).

Encourage students to give experiences rather than material objects for presents during the holidays, birthdays, or celebrations.

Material Re-Use—Learn how to find alternative uses for materials or to extend the life of materials.

Schedule school-wide locker cleanout days, where students donate unwanted supplies, rather than throw them out. Donated supplies can be organized and made available for others to re-use within the same school year or for back to school supplies for the next year.

Zero Waste Events—Learn how to plan parties or large scale events without generating waste that ends up in the landfill.

Develop a supply kit and guidelines for throwing a zero waste party. If service ware is required, use paper or compostable products rather than plastic or polystyrene products.

Litter Pick Up/Pollution Prevention—Learn improper disposal of materials impacts on the environment.

Educate students about the environmental challenges with the proliferation of plastic bags (such as its contribution to polluting local water ways and the great pacific garbage patch).
Create student produced film(s) educating others on the environmental impacts of pollution.

Student competitions to increase the use of reusable bags or to encourage litter pickup on and around school campus.

Wastewater Volume: Wastewater is the water that goes down drains inside our homes and businesses.  Your wastewater is cleaned by the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant (Plant) before it flows into the South San Francisco Bay (Bay).  Learn how too much wastewater (fresh water) flowing into the Bay may harm the environment. 

Indoor water audit and/or retrofits for reducing indoor water use at the school.

Projects for schools to cross-mentor each other on water saving retrofits and practices.

Pharmaceuticals: Learn how to properly dispose of unused medicines, reducing their impact on the environment.  The Plant is not designed to remove all medicine compounds from wastewater, resulting in some flowing into the Bay along with the treated wastewater.

Field trip to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Fieldtrip to the Plant. 

Mercury: Learn how to properly dispose of mercury containing items and the toxic effects of Mercury on the environment.  The Bay is impaired because of high levels of mercury.  Mercury accumulates in fish tissue and consuming mercury contaminated fish can negatively impact the nervous system, brain, kidneys, liver, and immune system in people and animals.

Fieldtrip to Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum and develop an activity that addresses the negative impacts of mercury in the San Francisco Bay.

Fats, Oil and Grease: Learn how to properly dispose of cooking oil, helping to reduce sanitary sewer overflows (sewer back-ups) into the environment.  Sanitary sewer overflows can enter stormdrains and flow directly to the Bay.

Fieldtrip to the Plant and classroom project showing how grease builds up in the sanitary sewer collection system.

Innovative classroom projects that promote environmental awareness and stewardship.

Flushable Wipes: Learn how disposable wipes can cause blockages in the sanitary sewer system.  Disposable wipes do not break down easily and when they end up at the Plant, they can become stuck on equipment and disrupt or delay the wastewater cleaning process.

Develop an innovative classroom project that teaches about the wastewater treatment system and how it functions, and test “flushable” products in the classroom to see if they dissolve or would damage the sanitary sewer system.

Triclosan: Learn about the harmful effects of Triclosan on the environment and seek safe alternatives for triclosan containing products.  Triclosan is a registered pesticide and along with other antibacterial chemicals, has been found in water bodies, including the Bay.

Identify products that contain tricolsan, and develop an outreach plan to encourage the replacement of those products with safe alternatives.

Household Hazardous Waste: Learn how to properly dispose of household hazardous waste, such as cleaning supplies, pesticides, and paint.  If not properly disposed of, they can end up in the landfill and eventually in the Bay, where they may harm water quality and wildlife.

Identify hazardous materials on campus and in the home, and organize a recycling event on campus and disposal with the Santa Clara County’s Household Hazardous Waste Program.

Pesticides/Fertilizers: Learn how pesticides and fertilizers applied to lawns and gardens can be carried by rain or irrigation runoff through the stormdrain system to the creeks and the Bay where they may harm water quality and wildlife.

Develop a school wide education program on pesticides and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and have students assist in the implementation of IPM techniques.

Trash: Learn how litter in streets and parking lots can be carried by rain or irrigation runoff through the stormdrain system to the creeks and the Bay where it damages habitat and may cause entanglement or be ingested by wildlife.

Organize an assembly or classroom presentation on trash pollution in our waterways and organize litter cleanup events.  Click here for more information. 

Automotive Pollution: Learn how leaky cars and trucks leave motor oil and other automotive fluids on the street where it is carried by rainwater down the stormdrains and into the creeks and Bay where it may harm water quality and wildlife.

Student production of outreach materials on the impact of automotive pollution on waterways. Assemble a pollution prevention kit for car owners, and outreach to student drivers on proper maintenance of vehicles and how to prevent stormwater pollution when repairing a vehicle.

Car Wash Water/ Fundraiser Car Washes: Learn how washing cars in driveways, parking lots or the street washes pollutants from the car, such as grease, oil, heavy metals, dirt, and detergent into the stormdrain system which flow to the creeks and the Bay.

Organize student to student outreach to youth groups and clubs about pollution from car wash fundraisers and propose a school wide policy.

Water Quality Monitoring: Learn how aquatic environments experience seasonal variation in water quality parameters and can be impacted by the presence of various pollutants. Changes in water quality can be indicators of pollutants and other environmental stressors on a water body.

Monitor water quality at a local creek or waterbody and present findings to the community.