FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 26, 2024) — Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Environmental Education Council congratulated Arlington Elementary School in Lexington and Robert D. Johnson Elementary School in Ft. Thomas today for being named among the 2024 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools.
Today, the U.S. Department of Education released the names of the 2024 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, District Sustainability awardees and Postsecondary Sustainability awardees. The two schools from Kentucky were nominated by the Kentucky Environmental Education Council for their efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, improve health and wellness, and ensure effective sustainability education.
“Congratulations to everyone at Arlington and Robert D. Johnson elementary schools on this national recognition,” said Gov. Beshear. “These students are truly exhibiting what Team Kentucky means by working together to make their schools better places to learn.”
“We applaud Arlington and Robert D. Johnson on being named 2024 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools,” said Jamie Link, secretary of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. “It’s amazing how much these young students have done to make their schools healthier. They are taking ownership of their school environment and putting into practice the lessons they are learning.”
“We are proud of the achievements of Robert D. Johnson Elementary and Arlington Elementary. Their students, faculty, administration and staff have embodied the promise of environmental education to bring people together to find creative solutions to complex problems,” said Wesley Bullock, interim executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Education Council.
Arlington Elementary is a Title 1 neighborhood school serving 280 students from preschool through 5th grade. Its school garden is used as a living laboratory for students to gain a hands-on environmental education by exploring seeds, animal habitats and the butterfly life cycle. The garden is fertilized by one of the only schoolwide, student-run composting programs in Fayette County Public Schools. Students conduct weekly energy and waste audits to help the school run efficiently and keep recycling sorted.
Arlington teachers collaborate and integrate lessons on sustainability throughout the school curriculum and in after-school programs. Students have learned about water pollution through informational texts and writing assignments, created a map showing how to stop erosion through the use of planting and landscaping and created campaigns to encourage correct recycling and reminders to turn off lights to save electricity. In Technology Club, students worked on a semester-long project with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to create a model for a future recreational park that will be both accessible for people with disabilities and environmentally sustainable. GreenTeam students have learned to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs from seed for the garden and to sell to the school community.
Robert D. Johnson Elementary is a community school serving more than 430 students from kindergarten through 5th grade. Johnson Elementary is committed to providing project-based learning opportunities focused on environmental education for students at every grade level. Projects include motivating and educating the school population about recycling and composting, using biomimicry to solve environmental problems and creating structures that provide shade for animals. As a result of project-based learning experiences, a group of Johnson Elementary students initiated and spearheaded a schoolwide recycling program. The school’s Eco Club monitors cafeteria recycling and composting while inviting community members to drop off their hard-to-recycle materials and promoting increased recycling at home.
The exterior of the school features two nature-themed playgrounds, native plant landscapes, an outdoor garden, an environmental education center, a composting station, hiking trails and a variety of fruit-producing native trees. The environmental education center was designed over a three-year period by Johnson Elementary students in collaboration with a high school landscape architecture class, teachers, community mentors and local architectural firms. It will be fertilized by cafeteria composting, is a certified Monarch Waystation and contains native plant species that promote the survival of native pollinators and animal species. The work of Johnson Elementary students, staff and community was recognized by the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education as PreK-12 Kentucky School of the Year in 2023.
Across the country, 41 schools, 10 districts, three postsecondary institutions and one early learning center are being honored as Green Ribbon Schools. The honorees were named from a pool of candidates nominated by 24 states.
Learn more here about the Kentucky Environmental Education Council.
Consult the list of all selected schools, districts, colleges and universities, as well as their nomination packages. Read a report with highlights on the honorees. Learn more about the federal recognition award.
