Club Green Says "Show Me the Money"

Staples High School's Club Green has made it to the final round of the Connecticut Light & Power's "Live Green Win Green" contest, a company spokesman said this week.

The contest challenges schools to demonstrate what they are currently doing to conserve energy and be environmentally responsible and propose a future "green" project they would like to implement.

Mitch Gross of CL&P said Staples is one of 12 schools in the final round vying for the "People's Choice" award. Each school had to submit a video and an essay as part of the application. The winning school earns $20,000 to help fund its proposed project. Three runners-up schools will also be chosen and will recieve $5,000 each.

Voting was open to anyone on the contest Web site livegreenwingreen.com. Gross said judges are considering the applications this week, tallying votes and will report the winners at the end of the month.

In the Club Green application, Staples students described their efforts in recycling, cultivating an organic garden, running buses on bio-diesel fuels, distributing clean energy sign-ups around town, hosting an Eco Fest and working with the nonprofit organization Green Village Initiative.

"Rather than just letting our ambitions end on the school-wide level, we want to influence our entire town," the essay read.

To reach that goal, students intend on implementing a variety of green goals, such as installing solar panels on the high school's roof — a project that is privately funded and already approved by appropriate town bodies. The panels are set to go up in mid-February, according to members of the town's Green Task Force.

AJ Kieffer, a senior at Staples, president of the school's Club Green and a member of the town's Green Task Force, said if the club won the $20,000 it would use the money to fund its second Eco Fest, a free festival for the town focusing on environmental awareness. The festival costs about $7,000 to run. Kieffer said they'd also save the money for future Eco Fests and consider using some of it to install a composting system in the cafeteria.

Club Green works not only to educate students about how to be more environmentally friendly, but it hopes to bring more green awareness to the town.

In the three years Kieffer has been a member of the club, he said he's seen a change in attitude among students.

"I don't know if it's the times that are changing or the work I'm doing (with Club Green), but I hope it's a combination of both," Kieffer said.

The senior hopes that work will continue with the help of the $20,000. This is the school's second attempt at winning the competition.

Those who would like to see the application can view it here.