If you ask a student at Grass Valley what makes their school special, they’ll tell you that Grass Valley is a Green School!  First grade teacher Julie Della Valle is the leader who makes this happen, and Clark County Environmental Services agrees. The organization will honor Mrs. Della Valle with the “Make Every Day Earth Day” award at a ceremony on April 12.

Della Valle has initiated and managed many activities designed to get students and adults focused on the environment.  Most noteworthy of these are: the Eco Officers Club, a school-wide Earth Day celebration, and the accomplishment of being a Level II Washington Green School.

Having the Eco Officers club ensures the school’s green efforts start with kids.  Mrs. Della Valle hosts weekly meetings and guides students in their efforts to reduce Grass Valley’s trash output and maximize recycling potential.  The kids assess each classroom’s effectiveness in recycling through trash audits and award them for their efforts.  Eco Officers teach their peers how to decrease trash production and increase their recycling and reusing habits.

“What we have found is that the adults in our building and parents at home are learning right along with the kids,” commented Grass Valley Principal Patricia Erdmann.

Julia Della Valle teaches at Grass Valley Elementary in Camas.

For the past two years, the Eco Officers have contributed to the Washington Green School Summit.  The efforts of Eco Officers and their leader have spilled over into other Green Team activities, such as the SOS (Save Our Scraps) program in the cafeteria.

A great example of the community coming together in this recycling effort is the Bottle Cap Drive that Della Valle brought to Grass Valley.  In cooperation with a local business, Grass Valley students are collecting thousands of threaded bottle caps that would otherwise end up in landfills.  The Eco Officers spend hours collecting and sorting the bottle caps (which are recyclable, but need to be separated from the plastic bottles) to help with this effort. Once again, the grownups in these children’s lives have become caught up in the tide of this effort and are eagerly participating.

For the past seven years, Julie Della Valle has organized an annual, school-wide Earth Day celebration.  She involves every single student and staff member in the celebration along with many parents.  Each year students design and make their own Earth Day flag to decorate the school.  They also host a school-wide garden cleanup to help recognize the day and to beautify the school grounds.  Additionally, Della Valle created a walking field guide for nearby wetlands and park areas identifying many local species students can find along the way. Many classes have taken advantage of this resource to explore the native plants and animals in the area around the school.  This opportunity is something that all Grass Valley zebras look forward to every year.

Beyond Earth Day, Mrs. Della Valle maintains native perennial plantings in the school garden and composts in her classroom.

In 2012, Mrs. Della Valle led the way for Grass Valley Elementary to achieve Level II Washington Green School status.  Reaching Level II acknowledges that they sustained our goals to reduce trash and recycle, and are now making strides to conserve energy throughout the building.

Students and staff members at Grass Valley Elementary are proud of their accomplishments in conservation and stewardship of the local environment and recognize that Julie Della Valle has been the catalyst in these efforts. Her commitment to the environment and the passion for sharing her knowledge empower the children to ensure a green future. Thanks to her determination and enthusiasm the entire Grass Valley community is making our world a better place.

Content provided by Camas School District.