On Thursday, September 19, Byron-Bergen Elementary School kicked off the second year of its New York State School Board Association (NYSSBA) Champions of Change award-winning compost program. A partnership with Impact Earth, the composting program began in January of 2024 and by the end of the school year had redirected 6,786 pounds of food waste from the landfill to become nutrient-rich soil.
“The students did a great job with this program last year,” said Elementary School Principal Kristin Loftus. “We just completed a refresher presentation with Doug Carney (Education Manager at Impact Earth) to remind our returning students and introduce our new students to what food items we compost and why so that we can start the new year successfully.”
According to Carney, the compost program at Byron-Bergen Elementary School was the most successful elementary school launch he had ever been part of. He commented, “On our end, we got almost no contamination, the bins were full every day, it all just worked. The student-led initiative went a long way to the program’s success and it’s a testament to the leadership at Byron-Bergen. I’m excited for the future of this program.”
Loftus added, “We were also really excited to receive this special award from NYSSBA and we are going to display it proudly in our cafeteria.”
The Compost Crew was awarded the NYSSBA Champions of Change Recognition earlier in 2024. The award highlights programs which bring positive, meaningful change to the students, communities and districts across New York State.
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