Below are links to descriptions of funded stewardship projects in the field of Carbon Footprint Reduction. Some are only short descriptions, others are more robust articles that have been published in The Earth Scientist. We hope they inspire you to take positive environmental actions within your community, and consider applying to NOAA Planet Stewards for funding.

• Lead the way to a better World!
• Recyclers at Waseca Montessori School
• Green Roof Performance
• Student Anti-Idling Campaign: Service Learning in Deed
• The Polar Bear Challenge: Local Impact on a Global Issue
• The Biggest Reducer: A Lesson in Waste Reduction
• Student Leadership and Climate Literacy
• Photovoice for Children’s Climate Change Engagement: Using Digital Photography to Bridge Knowledge and Action
• Runaway Carbon Cycle: Reducing Carbon Emissions through Understanding and Action

---

Lead the Way to a Better World!

(David – Community College Instructor, Rockville, Maryland)

Students at a local community college in Maryland met several times over the course of a semester to learn how to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by changing their habits. Each student chose an action to take and even recruited a friend or family member to take part in the behavior change activity.

Students chose to reduce the miles they drove, reduce hairdryer use, turn off personal computers and monitors, reduce light bulb use, reduce shower time, turn off the TV when not watching, and not use the air conditioner as often. Their new choices resulted in approximately 5,459 pounds of carbon dioxide kept out of the atmosphere.

---

Recyclers at Waseca Montessori School

(Seri – Elementary School Science Specialist, Athens, Georgia)

Every day, students throw away pounds of food and food containers in school cafeterias. At a Montessori school in Georgia, 22 students decided to change that. They learned about compost microorganisms, observed the composting process, performed a waste audit in their cafeteria, built composting stalls, and recorded trash reduction and compost materials after the stalls were made. Ultimately, the students’ efforts resulted in a 95% increase in the amount of compostable wastes sent to the compost pile at their school, and they grew 100 tree seedlings in the compost to be planted in the local area.

---

Green Roof Performance

(Radika and Megan – Professors, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Fifteen students representing Architecture, Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Design, Engineering, Interior Design, Industrial Design, Psychology and Environmental Sustainability majors put their climate knowledge to use to design and test green roofs at their university. The students designed an experimental green roof research project to study the role of green roof substrates in storm water management and plant growth. Students planted a 64 square foot section with 320 plants. The students assessed how well their designs performed and measured the energy savings and amount of carbon held by the plants. The roofs saved between 20.8kWh and 101.3kWh per year and held approximately 274g Cm2 per month. The students shared their knowledge and the hands-on science activities they developed with local high school students and their neighbors at the Philadelphia Science Festival.