Haslett middle-school students press board to make district-wide push for green-school certification

At the May 20 Haslett Board meeting, Bridget Booth, an eighth-grade science teacher, and members of a student environmental leadership team explained how the middle school earned Michigan Green School certification and argued the district could pursue green certification for every building.

Booth described the Student Environmental Activism Leadership (SEAL) Team, the four green certification tiers used by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and examples of student projects, including recycling initiatives, courtyard composting, a student-built wind-turbine engineering project with the robotics team, watershed education units, and a bird-mural placed to reduce window collisions. Student presenters said they hoped to expand student leadership and integrate climate education across subjects. They cited letters of support from the Meridian Township environmental commission and partnerships with the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education, the Michigan Climate Action Network, the North American Association for Environmental Education and Take Action Global.

Board members asked how the team would work with other schools; presenters said they have begun outreach to Raleigh and Murphy and emphasized that success depends on local teacher and student champions in each building. President Burt and several board members praised the students' presentation and encouraged continued collaboration.

The students asked for administrative and district support to sustain and scale their work; the board did not take formal action at the meeting but welcomed follow-up conversations and offered guidance about connecting with principals and teachers to integrate the work into building-level plans.