ROCKPORT — The U.S. Department of Education announced April 22 Camden Hills Regional High School is among the 2020 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award honorees, and one of only two schools in Maine to receive the honor (the other being Mount Desert Island High School). 

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools is “an outreach initiative that helps to promote innovative school sustainability practices and resources and multi-agency, multi-sector collaborations at a variety of levels (federal, state, school),” according to the U.S. Department of Education. 

Across the country, 39 schools, 11 districts, and five postsecondary institutions are being honored, according to a press release, for their innovative efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, improve health and wellness, and ensure effective sustainability education.

The honorees were named from a pool of candidates nominated by 27 states. The selectees include 28 public schools, including three magnet schools and four charter schools, as well as 11 nonpublic schools, per a release.

Forty-five percent of the 2020 honorees serve a disadvantaged student body, the release noted. 

“One of the things that struck me when I first visited CHRHS while interviewing for the principalship was the obvious commitment of students, staff, and administration to sustainable practices,” said Camden Hills Principal Shawn Carlson. “It was shared with me that it represented a core value of the district and high school. I was immediately attracted to the commitment and to what I believe it says about our community. Since coming on board, I have seen this commitment reflected in decisions the board has made, the staff have made and in the decisions students have made. It is not only reflected in the large visible projects such as the wind turbine and solar panels, but also in the daily decisions students and staff make. Decisions to recycle, to reduce paper usage, to compost the food waste in our school. This community deserves this recognition and the many people that have worked so hard over these years should be proud.”

Camden Hills Regional High School and Mount Desert Island High School were nominated by the Maine Department of Education based on their accomplishments in the three pillars of the program, according to a news release: 1) reducing environmental impacts, such as waste, water, energy, greenhouse gases, and transportation in the areas of facilities, grounds, and operations; 2) improving health and wellness through coordinated school health, with consideration to air quality, contaminant control, acoustics, daylighting, thermal comfort, school nutrition, and outdoors physical activity; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education that emphasizes hands-on, real-world learning, civic engagement, STEM connections, and green career preparation.

“With a deep appreciation for the beautiful natural resources of our great state, environmental sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint are priorities of Governor Mills and her administration, including the Department of Education,” said Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin. “Our schools are leading the way by providing their students with opportunities for environmental education and innovation. These students will be the future leaders and stewards of our planet, and are learning about their role, responsibilities and impact as global citizens.”

CHRHS policies, budgeting, and its people all focus on ensuring systems that will promote and support healthy students, a healthy school, and a healthy planet, per a news release. Over 77 percent of teachers incorporate sustainability education in courses.

“A student sustainability group, Windplanners, with overwhelming support from district administration and the community, has worked to reduce the environmental impact of the school,” a Maine DOE news release read. “Their initiatives include a major study and capital campaign to install the 100-kw wind turbine, working through one of the first power purchase agreements for high school installations in the state for a 159-kw solar array. These two installations provide 30 percent of electricity needs from on-site renewables. Working with the facilities director, students helped initiate several energy-efficiency projects that have reduced demand by another 20 percent.” 

CHRHS’ newest initiative involves several staff members and the Windplanners in building an organic waste management system, according to the Maine DOE.

“CHRHS installed a terraced garden on some marginal land that was considered a mowing hazard,” the Maine DOE said. “Each year, the school designs and plants the school garden with the goal of the harvest maturing when school begins in the fall. The school is also home to an orchard and asparagus patch that produce when school is in session. Both of these initiatives have been focused on helping increase the amount of local produce that supplies the school cafeteria. Whenever possible food is locally sourced, or even comes from the school garden.” 

The initiatives at CHRHS expand to several areas of the school, and students have access to people and resources that support their emotional growth and well-being, the news release said. 

“Camden Hills actively works to create a safe and open space for its students,” according to the Maine DOE. “The library has become a wellness area providing resources like massage chairs, therapy dogs, animal cams to view nature in action, adult coloring pages, and board games. A nature trails follows the circumference of the CHRHS campus and allows students and staff to go on walks and enjoy the beautiful woods on the campus while unplugging from the stress of school and getting exercise.”

Representatives from Camden Hills are invited to attend a tentatively scheduled ceremony in Washington D.C. on August 4 to celebrate this accomplishment and share their success story.