Green Cup Challenge Winners

Congratulations to the students at The Winchendon School, a coed, college preparatory school in Winchendon, MA, for achieving first place in the Northeast Boarding School category of the 2011 Green Cup Challenge.

A program of the Green Schools Alliance, the Green Cup Challenge invites all schools -- public and private, day and boarding schools -- to measure and reduce campus electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions, and supports campus greening efforts, including recycling and water conservation. Carbon footprint reductions are measured over a four-week period from mid-January to mid-February.

The students at Winchendon were able to reduce their electricity consumption by 22.5 percent in the period.

Down in Florida, two other SAGE schools achieved significant energy savings during the challenge. Palmer Trinity School, in Palmetto Bay, won second place in the Gulf of Mexico division with a 17.6 percent reduction, and Pine Crest School, in Boca Raton, took third place in the division for trimming its electricity consumption by 13.1 percent.

It's so encouraging to see the enthusiasm today's students have for energy conservation and maintaining the health of our planet. Congratulations to the 13 SAGE schools that participated in the challenge, and best of luck next year!