PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: June 10, 2016
Monomoy Regional Middle School Wins Energy Award
The National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project has announced an award to a group of Monomoy seventh grade students for “an outstanding energy education project”: The Truth About Bottled Water. Along with the award, NEED named Monomoy Regional Middle School “Massachusetts Junior High School Rookie of the Year.”
A Recognition Event for group is planned for June 14th at 10 a.m. at the Monomoy Middle School in Chatham. State Representative Sarah Peake will present a citation. The media is invited to attend.
The group of 23 seventh graders who worked on the project was advised by teacher Nancy Gifford. Mrs. Gifford said, “The multi-faceted project was initiated by the students to capture data and attempt to encourage Monomoy Middle School (MRMS) students to reduce their use of plastic water bottles.”
The project was supported by a grant from the NOAA Climate Stewards project. Mrs. Gifford has been a member of the Climate Stewards program for several years and wrote the $2,000 grant proposal for the installation of a water bottle filling station at MRMS. In order to receive the grant, students had to collect data on the carbon impact of water bottle use in the school. They researched the health, safety and cost of bottled water vs. tap water. They learned that tap water is often safer and healthier than bottled water and invited a member of the Chatham Water Department to teach kids about how public water is treated.
Students in the project created a skit and presentation share their findings with the entire school community. They created posters about the advantages of tap water and used the bottle caps from the data collection to create a mural of the Monomoy Shark logo. The water bottle filling station will be installed in June. The students will then calculate the carbon footprint impact.
Deborah Shiflett-Fitton, education coordinator for the Compact said, “The Compact is pleased to have supported these well deserving students through the years and is very proud of them on their award for their efforts to educate their community to the importance of recycling and saving our valuable natural resources. When it comes to the bottled water issue, these students understand the importance of the energy and water conservation connection and have become a model and good example for their community.”
About National Energy Education Development Project:
Started in 1980, launched by a Congressional resolution spearheaded by Gerard Katz, a New York state physics teacher, the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education association dedicated to promoting a realistic understanding of the scientific, economic, and environmental impacts of energy so that students and teachers can make educated decisions.
About Cape Light Compact:
Cape Light Compact is an intergovernmental organization consisting of the 21 towns and two counties on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. The Compact’s mission is to serve our 200,000 customers through the delivery of proven energy efficiency programs, effective consumer advocacy, competitive electricity supply and green power options. For more information, visit www.capelightcompact.org.
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