![\"Green](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG_Brock.jpg\")
<\/a>The students\u2019 months of research and work with local organizations, such as Lynnhaven River Now and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, culminated on Earth Day, April 22, when the students began actively promoting the new bottle refill station purchased with the help of grant funds.<\/p>\n
The refill station, attached to a water fountain in the school\u2019s cafeteria, is sensor-activated with an automatic 20-second shutoff timer.\u00a0A counter on the station keeps track of the quantity of disposable plastic bottles saved from a landfill.<\/p>\n
After two weeks in operation, the refill station counter showed 453 bottles saved \u2013 and the count was increasing with each lunch block.<\/p>\n
Also bringing attention to the new refill station are the customized BPA-free, reusable water bottles that Lind, Aniya Jones and their fellow Green Team members are giving away during lunches. For each plastic bottle cap a student recycles, he\/she earns the opportunity to win a \u201cPatriots reduce\u201d water bottle in the school colors of blue and yellow.<\/p>\n Jones hopes the ease of donating one bottle cap or students bringing their own water bottles to refill will help encourage widespread awareness. \u201cIt unifies the student body because this is something everyone can get into. Instead of it being just for SCA or Green Team or a leadership course, this effort includes all students. Everyone can be a part of this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel as if it brings more school spirit as well,\u201d Lind added. \u201cIt shows that we are trying to become more \u2018green,\u2019 more efficient. Some people don\u2019t think we recycle here. This helps us promote our \u2018greenness.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n As Jones, Lin and Hotaling make one final pass through the cafeteria to collect bottle caps from students before the bottle winner is announced, several students visit the water fountain to fill their bottles before going to their next class. There is unanimous agreement that the quick-fill rate of the refill station is the best feature.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a few seconds, my water bottle is full,\u201d says one student.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quick and easy, and I don\u2019t have to twist the bottle make sure I catch the water,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it fills up the bottle all the way,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n Will the Green Team purchase more refill stations for the school?<\/p>\n \u201cWe are trying to get one at the other end of the school by the gym,\u201d Lind said.<\/p>\n That will mean more of the \u201cother\u201d green Hotaling referred to earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next step is letting students know that this is something that you have to pursue,\u201d he said. \u201cWe received a grant to help, but they could go out and raise $800 or $900. That\u2019s like three car washes and you have another refill station for the school. It\u2019s something they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n If you or your organization is interested in supporting the Virginia Beach Education Foundation or learning more about other grant projects, visit <\/em>www.vbef.org<\/em><\/a> or contact VBEF coordinator Debbie Griffey at 757-263-1337 or <\/em>debbie.griffey@vbschools.com<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThe name \u2018Green Team\u2019 doesn\u2019t equate to the money green,\u201d explained Matt Hotaling with a smile. That\u2019s why Hotaling and his First Colonial High School (FCHS) colleague Diane Polk applied […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-connections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3716"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3721,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions\/3721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>\u201cWe got our numbers up this week. I think we went up about 200 this week,\u201d said Green Team member and FCHS junior Mya Lind. She credits the Earth Day promotions for bringing awareness.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Lind agreed that the refill station offers convenience as well. \u201cThe water flow from a typical water fountain can go up and down, and you have to move the bottle with it. It\u2019s just a lot of work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n