South Royalton School Project
Wins National Service Award
By Mary Waterman

Some of the SoRo National Honor Society students are pictured around a recycle barrel. From (l-r) are Lucas Sanford-Long, Lauren Farnsworth, Heather Burbine, Cal Wilmot, and Caleb Atwood. (Provided)

The South Royalton School project entitled "Recycle, Compost, Volunteer" has received two grant awards to complete project goals.

The school was one of 100 selected from across the United States to receive the State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award through Youth Service America. The school also received the Philip D. Levesque Community Award, a grant established in 1994 by Gifford Medical Center’s Trustees in memory of Phil Levesque, to honor his years of service to Gifford and the White River Valley community.

The $2,000 total from the two grants will be used to support recycling activities and a new composting program, and to encourage and recognize volunteer service. Preparation activities started months ago, with the National Honor Society members assuming leadership towards creating a systems change. Lauren Farnsworth facilitated an assembly for grades 7-12, showing Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth" film, and conducting a follow-up discussion.

This Saturday, April 26 from 8-11 a.m. South Royalton students will host a "Living Green" table at the Royalton Transfer Station. With student leadership from Lucas Sanford Long, they will display resources from the Association of Vermont Recyclers.

On Tuesday, April 29 at 12:45 p.m. a guest of honor will facilitate a "Volunteerism and Service" assembly to recognize outstanding service by community members, teachers, and students. This will tie into the American Red Cross Carlton Clark Memorial Blood Drive from 12-5 p.m. that same day in the school gymnasium.

South Royalton elementary students are competing for points by creating educational posters about "living green" and by volunteering with their families during Global Youth Service Days (April 25-27).

These Global Youth Service Days activities represent the largest service event in the world, a public awareness and education campaign that highlights the contributions young people make in their community 365 days a year. 

South Royalton NHS students have been collecting school recyclable materials and taking resources to the transfer station on a weekly basis. They have discovered the many challenges of school-wide composting, yet prevailed in making the new program effective. Area farmers have utilized most of the compost, and new recycle bins and compost containers will soon appear in the school, making the program more visible and sustainable.

The students are supported by Mary Waterman, Community Learning educator/advisor, and the National Honor Society teacher advisors, Gail Stapleton and Jeff Thomas.

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