The results are in! Over the past few weeks, our Middle School students led the Go Green, Ride Yellow campaign, bringing awareness to how daily transportation choices affect the planet. “With transportation accounting for around 20% of global CO₂ emissions,” explains Director of Sustainability Shelley Flint, “it remains a major contributor to climate change. We wanted to gather statistics and analyze how our community commutes to campus, and both educate and inspire everyone to find ways to reduce carbon emissions.”
Throughout the three-week campaign, data was collected from students across all school levels, tracking how they arrived at school each day. Middle school science and math classes analyzed the data to determine the percentage of students taking green ways to school and calculate the carbon emissions saved as a result of not driving separately in a standard car. Students also had the opportunity to practice creating charts and graphs to visually present their findings.
The Middle School Ecoserve elective class, led by Science teacher Annemarie Robinson, played a key role in motivating participation by providing incentives for students who chose eco-friendly ways to commute to include special treats at the bus drop-offs and prize opportunities. Lower School students had opportunities to enter a raffle, while Middle Schoolers competed in a grade-level challenge. “One of our key learning strategies in middle school science,” shares Robinson, “is to base learning around personal and societal issues. When students interact in a meaningful way with statistics that represent them and their surroundings, they can’t help but reflect deeply on their choices. I was really excited to see the Eco-Elective students take such a leadership role in this project!”
Campaign Results
Over the course of the campaign, 3,687 total trips to school were recorded. Here’s how different school levels chose greener transportation:
By choosing green transportation over single-passenger car trips to school, our community collectively saved an estimated 5,723.68 kg of CO₂ emissions!
What Does That Mean for the Planet?
According to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator, this reduction in CO₂ emissions is equivalent to:
🌱 94.6 tree seedlings grown for 10 years
🌳 5.7 acres of U.S. forests absorbing CO₂ for one year
🌎 0.34 acres of U.S. forests preserved from development
A huge shoutout to our Middle School students and teachers for leading this initiative and inspiring the entire school community to think green and ride yellow! We look forward to strengthening our efforts and making sustainable transportation a lasting habit for everyone.