RecyclingStudents from 116 schools in 22 states collectively prevented 1,567,562 pounds of global warming carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmospher in just four weeks, during the 2012 national Green Cup Challenge. Top reducing schools for this years GCC included The Hill School in Middleburg, Virginia (-23.4%) which came in 3rd in the nationwide group of 16 participating schools.

Now in its 5th year, the GCC is an inter-school energy conservation challenge, for grades K-12, sponsored by the non-profit Green Schools Alliance. The friendly competition empowers students and staff to conserve electricity, raise environmental awareness, and decrease their campus’s carbon footprint.

The Saplings and Tree Huggers, two student environmental clubs, led the effort to turn off Hill School lights and computer monitors when not in use, to fully close doors and windows, and to reduce trash output. Faculty leaders Pat Kidder and Lois Johnson-Mead praised Hill’s students for their dedication to reducing waste and saving our natural resources.