Las Vegas and Henderson students are getting serious about recycling thanks to a newly formed collaboration. The Clark County School District (CCSD), the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), the City of Henderson, Republic Services, and other local organizations created the Green Ambassadors Program to engage students on recycling awareness and develop environmental stewardship.

The collaboration has already raised awareness and increased savings. Incoming UNLV freshman Samantha Banz and her 60 strong Liberty HS eco-club students saved CCSD over $6,000 by increasing their Henderson school’s recycling output. They accomplished this feat by hosting a green week early semester utilizing the organizational resources of the Green Ambassador Program to launch full school participation. Per the Green Ambassador Program’s playbook, ACE kicked off Liberty’s recycling campaign by delivering its dynamic presentation to the entire school.  According to Katie Duffy, CCSD’s recycling specialist, “ACE has been an integral partner in the Green Ambassadors Program. [ACE’s] climate science assembly and leadership trainings inspire students to recycle and green their schools.”

Student leaders delivered speeches before CCSD’s Board of Trustees vouching for the effectiveness of ACE and the Green Ambassador’s Program. Alongside Samantha, graduating senior Kevin Olivarez of Burk HS in Las Vegas and junior Ashley Ellis of Foothill HS in Henderson informed the Board of their schools’ accomplishments. ACE motivated Kevin to found an eco-club at Burk that launched school-wide recycling with assistance from Republic Services.  Ashley’s ACE inspired eco-club at Foothill ran a two-week water bottle recycling contest that triggered a cross-section of ten Foothill sports teams to collect 2,000 pounds of recyclable bottles altogether. As Associate Superintendent of Facilities Paul Gerner stated in a Las Vegas Review-Journal Article about Samantha and the Green Ambassador’s Program, ““There’s no greater motivator to change your behavior than a student on a mission[.]””