Eisenhower High School Terra Forma Tigers

Terra Forma means "Earth Shaping"---Students in the EHS ecology class are automatically Green Team members.  The high school's ecology/environmental science class meets the state requirements for one of the four years of science to enter a 4-year college and to help our high school's gradates to become environmentally literate citizens.

The three upperclassman classes recycle paper, cans and bottles once a week for buildings within the school district throughout the school year--averaging 30 tons paper/cardboard, 1,000lbs aluminum cans and over 60,000 plastic bottles recycled annually.

The ecology/environmental science students conduct an annual event---Celebrate EARTH! (for EE Week and Earth Day) at the high school for the school district's 3rd-5th graders. The event is scheduled in April close to Earth Day.

During the fall of 2011, the ecology/environmental science students will begin Phase ONE to establish a certified outdoor wildlife learning site (OWLS) at the campus of the high school. We have established a partnership with the Westar Energy Green Team to build an outdoor classroom shade pergola out of repurposed wood--putting recycling concepts into action. An OWLS start up grant from KS Wildlife and Parks has been received for installation of the native prairie garden beds, solar bird bath purple martin houses, overseeding of grasses and forbes in the native grasses section of the OWLS area, and establishing food and habitat for wildlife. Ten elevated interpretive native prairie plant garden beds have been established with culturally significant native plants and grasses to Kansas. These bed will not only provide hands-on learning opportunities but will also become a Monarch Way Station. Additional plantings will occur annually during the 5-year long term development plan for the outdoor wildlife learning site. Bird houses, bird nesting boxes, a bat box, and composting bins have also been added during Phase One of the OWLS development plant during the 2011-12 school year. Ecology students have built flip top table/benches to place at the outdoor classroom pergola once it is compelted. A user guide book for the site for other schools in the district to use while visiting the OWLS site is also being developed--see KS Green Schools resources.

The ecology classes also participate in Project EARTH sponsored by the Sedgwick Co Extension Service, Kid Wind, the Leopold Project, Project Learning Tree, Project Wet, and Project Wild. Eisenhower High School has obtained the Silver Award from Eco-Schools, NWF. The catch basin vernal pond has been able to retain water throughout the long hot summer 2011 and numerous waterfowl and wildlife have been seen watering at this location.
 

Accomplishments to date: 1) 2011 Celebrate Earth event was recognized by the ProjectEarth.net organization as the national winner of their Earth Day events. This project represented the United States in the International 2011 competition. 2) Ms. Scribner, EHS ecology teacher, was awarded the KACEE Award of Excellence for Pre K-18 in environmental education 2009. 3) 2011 winner of KS Waste Mgt Grant to purchase recycling containers for high school and install a fishing line waste collection unit at the OWLS pond 4) Silver Award certification Eco-School, NWF 5) Featured case study September 2011--Eco Schools go to: http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/School-Solutions/Eco-Schools-USA/Become-an-Eco-School/Case-Studies.aspx to read the case study