Earth Day — CHS Recycling & Hydration Stations

This is a story we were working on before the school closure and realized it would be a perfect time to share it on Earth Day!

A Cabot High School teacher and her students are working to make the world a better place, one paper and one plastic water bottle at a time.

Last year, science teacher Stephanie Jimmerson and her Advanced Placement Environmental Science and Ecology Club students had a discussion on ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

That's when they decided to start a districtwide paper recycling program. What started out as an idea has now grown into more than 600 recycling bins being placed across the district in classrooms and workrooms!

Here's how it works. Each campus has a recycling host in charge. In grades K-6th, gifted & talented specialists are moving the recycling initiative forward with help from their GT students, who serve as leaders and actively educate their peers and teachers on the importance of recycling.

At the junior high, freshman, and high school levels, the program is being supervised by Mrs. Jimmerson, the Builder's Club, and the National Honor Society. Each campus has a designated paper output station and eventually the paper is sent to National State Recycling.

Recycling though, is not the only way students are helping the environment.

Mrs. Jimmerson and Nicole Gatewood, Coordinator of C/T and STEM Innovation at Cabot High School, collaborated and worked together to gather donations from Family Foot Care, 1st Security Bank, Jostens, CHS FFA/Agriculture Alumni, ROTC, CHS Cafeteria, CHS Band, and Ecology Club to fund 11 hydration stations within the last two years.

Along with the hydration stations the district provided, there are now a total of 14 across the high school campus. Last year, Owen Orthodontics donated 150 reusable water bottles for students to use at the hydration stations as well. 

As of current, students, teachers, and staff have used the hydration stations and filled their reusable water bottles nearly 78,000 times… that's 78,000 plastic water bottles NOT in landfills!

Congratulations to Cabot High School for “Going Green” and doing your part to protect the environment by reducing your carbon footprint.

To celebrate Earth Day, here's an awesome fact! @CabotHigh has 14 hydration stations on campus. To date, students, teachers, & staff have used the hydration stations & filled their reusable water bottles nearly 78,000 times - that’s 78,000 plastic water bottles NOT in landfills! pic.twitter.com/kTtitO46ua

— Cabot Public Schools (@cabotsd) April 22, 2020