Student sustainability committee presents waste plan and campus projects to Jefferson Union board

President Cherry Walker opened the recognition portion of the meeting and introduced students from the district sustainability committee, who presented the group’s year-long work on waste reduction and campus sustainability.

Student presenter Graciela, identified as a 10th-grade student from Oceana High School, told the board the committee includes 27 members across schools, staff and five community partners and has formed subcommittees on waste, communications and other topics. “We found about 20% contamination in our waste streams,” she said, describing classroom visits, a week-long on-campus Earth Week and a student garden day on April 25.

The presentation highlighted specific actions: school-by-school audits, improved signage plans for cafeterias, a pilot of three-bin placements to reduce cross-contamination, student-led trivia and beach cleanup events (50 volunteers collected a reported 76 pounds of trash and 13 pounds of cigarette-filter recycling). Bianca Salazar, a junior from Terrenova, said the communications subcommittee produced Instagram posts and infographics to publicize reuse and proper disposal practices.

Board members and attendees praised the students’ work. A board member noted the projects help “put the district on the map” and asked whether the committee had evidence that the school-level changes reduced landfill disposal; students and staff said the committee is developing monitoring and incentive systems and will continue audits to measure impact.

The board thanked the students and invited them to take photos with trustees before moving on to the next agenda item. The committee said it will continue to coordinate with county and city partners and seek district support for signage and monitoring resources.