King County seeks nominations for 2007 ‘Earth Heroes at Schools’

King County wants to honor as "Earth Heroes" the teachers, students and staff who have helped protect the environment or educate students on environmental issues.

"We know there are numerous examples of inspiring and effective work on behalf of the environment in our schools," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "These are the people and programs working to maintain our environmental legacy in King County, and we want to recognize them as Earth Heroes."

The King County Solid Waste Division is seeking nominations for its annual Earth Heroes at Schools award. Nominees can include teachers, students, staff, school volunteers, specific programs or entire schools that have contributed to both the protection of the local environment and the education of students on environmental issues.

Sims said the Earth Heroes at Schools Program is designed not only to acknowledge the accomplishments of its honorees, but to recognize their work as models of environmental efforts that other schools or organizations can adopt.

This year's winners will be honored at King County's sixth-annual Earth Heroes at Schools event this spring. Among last year's recipients were Lynn Spishak, a Bellevue High School student, Fred Ritsema, a teacher at Bow Lake Elementary School in SeaTac, and Dave Holbrook, a custodian at Newcastle Elementary.

Spishak led the school's environmental club for three years, while heading the school's efforts to recycle cell phones and used batteries, plus "Carpool to School Day." Ritsema created his school's arboretum and founded its environmental club, while Holbrook was a key player in improving his school's recycling program. A complete list of 2006 Earth Heroes at School is at www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/education/earth-heroes.asp.

Earth Heroes can be nominated by colleagues or classmates, but self-nominations are also encouraged. Nomination forms are available for download on the King County Executive's Web site or by calling Donna Miscolta at 206-296-4477. Nominations will be accepted until Feb. 16, and winners will be honored at an award ceremony April 19.