JACKSON HEIGHTS — Students at P.S. 69 have spent the few last school years salvaging broken crayons, using less food and turning thousands of toilet paper rolls into art.
And now their green initiatives have won them some gold.
The elementary school on 77th Street and 37th Avenue has been awarded a national Green Flag Award, which rewards schools that have made significant changes to promote sustainability.
The honor is given through Eco-Schools USA, a program with the National Wildlife Federation. P.S. 69 is the 11th New York City Public School to get the award, which comes with a $5,000 grant to help continue the green programs.
“Our Earth is beautiful beyond measure and every effort towards preserving her and all her creatures is our collective responsibility," said Pallavi Shastri, a Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialist (SAPIS) counselor at P.S. 69 who's been leading the sustainability effort, as she tearfully thanked students for all their hard work at an assembly ceremony Thursday.
Kids on the "green team" were dubbed superheroes for taking on the challenge of consuming and using less — whether it was in the classroom, the cafeteria or at home, officials said.
They used less electricity, powering down electronics that resulted in savings of an estimated 94,771 kilowatt hours of electricity, officials said.
"We have been around classrooms giving lessons to kids, promoting the Clean Plate Challenge, done classroom energy audits, and so much more," said Alexandra Lomboy, a fifth grade student who joined the "green team" three years ago.
Lomboy said Shastri and the green program have "influenced us to give up single use plastic products, to go outside to garden and compost, and find ways to conserve energy."
P.S. 69's principal, Martha Vazquez, said they were honored to receive the distinction, and the program "has led our school community to learn and live more environmentally conscious lives."
