February marks the beginning of the Green Cup Challenge ™, an inter-school energy challenge that raises awareness about energy conservation and, not incidentally, saves participating schools thousands of dollars in utility costs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Springside’s deep commitment to encouraging its students to solve real problems and address real needs has created a well-deserved reputation as an ecologically responsible campus, making the GCC a natural step. Throughout February, by measuring school-wide electrical usage, enlisting everyone’s help, urging conservation, and submitting results for comparison, the entire community will embrace the challenge of energy conservation and will no doubt be insisting on the same measures at home! Let the games begin!

A responsibility to the larger world exists at Springside in all grades. The Green Cup and Green Cap Challenges will further the development of an ethic of civic responsibility already practiced here at school. Treading more gently on the planet, Springside students, faculty, and alumnae are proud to think globally, act locally, and step greenly.

GOLD and BLUE make GREEN! Should you be interested in more of Springside’s green initiatives...

• Click here to view our Green Footprints master list.
• Click here to read the first online and green-themed issue of the Upper School Paw Print.

Click on a link below to view the videos made by each division's GCC committee:

NOTE: please select "watch in high quality" or "watch in HD"

Lower School Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX0LbeDNyZM

Middle School Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WBvULsP2Cg

Upper School Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE3NW0IxGW4

Embodying the best of the environmental spirit, two of our third graders, Alexa Walls and Lucy Lamb, announced an associated initiative this week: The Green Cap Challenge. Did you know that if the bottles you toss in recycling are still wearing their caps, they become waste and are NOT recycled? Lucy and Alexa have challenged the school to collect plastic bottle caps separate from recycled bottles, having learned that these small pieces of plastic can also be an environmental hazard in wildlife habitats. Springside will be joining a campaign called Recycle Caps with Aveda, the skin- and hair-care company that recycles the plastic caps to make containers for their products. Everyone is encouraged to bring in plastic caps from common household items such as soda and water bottles, shampoo containers, and detergent.