A pair of Enumclaw schools were recently recognized for their ongoing effort to reduce waste, improve recycling, conserve energy and cut costs, all with help from the King County Green Schools Program.

Enumclaw Middle School and Westwood Elementary were among the individual schools and two school districts cited for their efforts.

The Green Schools Program provides hands-on help, guidance for Green Teams, and the tools schools need, such as information, indoor recycling bins, and a variety of conservation signs, to make improvements.

The program recognizes Level One schools that incorporate waste reduction and recycling practices; Level Two schools implement energy conservation practices; and Level Three schools take on water conservation and pollution prevention measures. Westwood Elementary and EMS were among the 76 schools cited as Sustaining Green Schools for maintaining and building on all three elements of the program.

“This spring we are recognizing 89 schools and two school districts for their conservation practices,” said Pat D. McLaughlin, director of the King County Solid Waste Division. “By providing this hands-on program, King County is laying the foundation for a lifetime of resource conservation by students and their families as well as by school and district employees.”

The program has served a growing number of schools each year, from 70 schools in 2008 to 306 schools as of this spring, totaling 62 percent of the K-12 schools in King County outside the city of Seattle. More than 188,000 students in those 306 schools have had opportunities to learn about conservation and engage in conservation practices through the program.