Discovery Woods (Brainerd)
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Focused on recycling and its connection to air pollution. Due to the efforts of the 2022-23 YES Team, the school now has a better overall recycling program as well as a successful air-quality monitoring project around the neighborhood to study the impacts of plant growth on air quality.
Harbor City International
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Protected water quality in Minnesota’s Great Lake Superior. Completed their Many Rivers Montessori Water Workshop in which the YES Team provided young students with education about the environment, habitat creation or restoration and water conservation and quality.
Lac qui Parle Valley High School
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Engaged the Lac qui Parle Valley community in a conversation about climate, specifically addressing local impacts. Continued this conversation with young students and partnered with these young students to restore prairies. Highlighted Earth Day with prior week’s events and even adopted a highway!
MACCRAY High School
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Created a safe walking route for both people in the school and in the community; the goal behind this project was to encourage personal movement and mental and physical well-being.
Mankato East High School
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Successfully replaced the plastic forks and spoons in the school cafeteria with metal, washable forks and spoons. In order to complete this project, the YES Team built meaningful relationships with the school’s head cook, head custodian and head of nutritional services.
Mankato West
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Continued to support and improve the composting project brought in by a previous YES Team as well as completed a campus wide clean (collecting more than 150 pounds of waste throughout the year) and implemented a new, more efficient system of composting in the school cafeteria.
New London-Spicer Middle School
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Worked with local green career expert to learn more about pollination and pollinator plots. Used this information to provide environmental education to the 5th grade classes and partner with these classes to spread seeds in the YES Team’s pollinator plot.
Royalton
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Built community throughout the YES Team by providing monthly projects including installing a solar light source to illuminate the school sign, preventing water erosion, using water runoff to water school garden, working with 8th graders to create a plan to restore their school’s prairie and educating preschoolers and kindergartners on the importance of trees.
Sleepy Eye (Public and St. Mary’s) High Schools
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Cultivated prairie restoration areas at the Sleepy Eye golf course as outdoor learning spaces. Collected and repurposed broken crayons to be used by local pediatric patients. Cleaned the school locker rooms and implemented the use of eco-friendly products and natural air fresheners.
Westbrook-Walnut Grove
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Studied solid waste reduction by upcycling flowers; completed this project by creating “flowers” from plastic bottles and newspapers. The YES Team continued maintenance of the school gardens by winterizing plants, installing new solar lights, cutting back dead growth and cleaning up mulch and rocks.