BLOOMINGTON - A trio of Brigham Elementary School fifth-grade students pushed a blue recycling bin down the hallway making scheduled stops on Tuesday.

It's a regular occurrence at the school as part its efforts to be environmentally friendly, and it's only one example of the many conservation-minded activities taking place at Central Illinois schools every day.

"I do it because I want to help the earth," said Alexis Mendiola, 10, one of the fifth-graders involved in the activity before classes start.

Her classmate, Tyler Frickenstein, said he likes the idea of saving trees. Joe Koski, also a fifth-grader at the school in Bloomington, said he wants to do his part to prevent global warming.

The three Living Green team members at the school wear VIP badges to let staff and students know who they are and what they are up to.

The program is the vision of Barb Gaffron, a speech pathologist at the school.

"Her goal is to encourage leadership by students and a sense of community service in an environmentally friendly way," said principal Geoff Schoonover.

"We take a lot of pride in this," Schoonover said.

Brigham's Living Green Team won a McLean County Recycling and Waste Reduction Award in September at the Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo at Illinois Wesleyan University, he said.

It is a team effort with the school's custodian, Mark Kidwell, head cook Maggie Evans, staff and students all taking part.

The school's Eco Kids team also focuses on the environment. Students write stories about recycling and other environmentally friendly topics in the school newspaper and take part in related activities.

Brigham Elementary School staff and students are looking forward to the arrival of a new geothermal system this summer. It will implement an environmentally friendly form of heating and cooling.

It is part of a bigger conservation-minded plan throughout Normal-based Unit 5 school district.

"The people part is where you really get things moving," said Bruce Boswell, the district's energy educator. He said while thousands of dollars can be saved by using the right equipment and conservation methods, it's when people get interested that things will have a positive environmental impact as well as save money.

"The key is having people involved," he said. That includes building administrators, staff and students.

In the past 27 months, the district has saved more than $2.4 million with actions including shutting off lights, turning off its 3,800 computers when not in use, lowering its thermostats in empty buildings and using environmentally friendly systems such as geothermal heating.

Green themes continue throughout the area both inside and outside classrooms. For example, Downs-based Tri-Valley Schools are embarking on a wind turbine project that will save the school money in energy costs, and act as a learning tool for students.

At Bloomington Junior High School, Kathy Mundell-Bligh and her garden club focus on gardening but also look at recycling and creating animal habitats in the city.

About a dozen members of the junior high club Mundell-Bligh started three years ago are set to make birdhouses this spring for the school's courtyard garden.

Students also hope to plant 2,000 bulbs over the next five years to brighten the area in the spring.

"It's exciting," said the Bloomington District 87 teacher and Master Gardener.

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Eco-friendly kids at any age

By Joe Orso | joe.orso@lee.net

Sitting down to calculate your household's contribution to global warming is going to feel an awful lot like math class to the kids. You can make it more motivating and fun for the whole family to learn environmental awareness through positive, practical daily activities.

Here are some tips to teach your children to live more eco-friendly lives at every age:

• Go outside. Hike through the woods, row a boat or climb trees. All are time-tested ways for kids to develop an appreciation for their place within nature.

• Read. Introduce older kids to environmental classics like Aldo Leopold's "A Sand County Almanac" and Henry David Thoreau's "Walden."

• Pick up litter. Choose a park or a neighborhood in your community that needs cleaning, get a group of friends and pick up the trash.

• Recycle. Learning to recycle, reuse and compost as a youngster fosters habits that will have long-term benefits for humanity and the planet.

• Learn the names of bugs, critters, birds and trees. Use books to get to know the names of plant and animal life in your area; then go out and find what you read about.

• Observe Earth Day. Make Earth Day an annual celebration in the home.

• Walk, ride bicycles. Kids don't need car rides everywhere. Get kids in the habit of walking and riding bikes to school, sporting events and friends' houses.

• Go camping. Sleep under the stars, just like your ancestors did.

• Save water. "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down."

• Write poetry. Write Haiku or other poems about nature and the changing seasons.

Judson Steinback, a teacher at Three Rivers School in La Crosse, Wis., contributed to this article.

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More green

For more ways for you and your family to live a greener life, go to www.pantagraph.com/gogreen. You'll find tips and stories about being environmentally friendly at home, work and play.

At home

• Green hazard? Reusable bottles worry parents

• 10 tips for remodeling

• Thinking spring? 5 tips to greener gardening

• Cleaning: Heed 'non-toxic avenger'

At work

• Cleaning: Will dry go wet to rid clothes of toxins?

• Q&A: How does Green Seal certify products?

• How does the U.S. government regulate chemicals?

At play

• Green fun: Shop, entertain, and especially, give

• Books: Green living rooted in established ways

Everywhere

• Dying green: You'll make great compost after burial

• Green gifts: Choose with tact, make an impact

• Labeling: Where is the detail on 'green' items?

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Year by year

Here's an age-appropriate tip for each phase of childhood:

• Preschool: Show kids that when they have finished their fruit and vegetables, there are parts that can be composted. Involve your children in composting your food scraps, coffee grounds, etc. Get them used to seeing that food waste is not garbage but rather something that can be turned into soil to grow more food.

• Grades 1-3: While teaching your children dental hygiene, remind them to turn off the water while brushing their teeth.

• Grades 4-6: Enlist kids to help in the garden and give them their own plants to nurture. You can have them help with weeding, but you can also bring them in at the beginning of the process. Start with sunflowers, carrots and pole beans.

• Grades 7-8: Involve your children in shopping and meal preparation. Teach them about genuine organic food.

• High school: Encourage walking, riding bikes and using public transportation. Make emission-reducing car care part of learning to drive.

SOURCE: iVillage Inc., NBC Universal