Kate Ruppenkamp, a Springfield Middle School teacher, said the school is working toward becoming the county's third green school.
The school has a "green team," made up of students who meet twice each month and work on environmental issues within their school. She said the group is working on a bird and butterfly garden, adding vegetation to the grounds, and even ensured that proper recycling procedures were being followed.
Ruppenkamp said the school had a paper recycling program, like all Washington County public schools, but the paper was not being recycled.
"We've been recycling paper, but it didn't always get where it needed to be," she said.
She said that since late last year, that has been corrected.
"The amount of paper a school goes through in a week is tremendous," Ruppenkamp said.
She said the school has increased its recycling efforts, even making sure that plastic bottles and aluminum cans do not go to the landfill. She said teachers and the student group are planning more green activities next year.
