By Jackie Greely, Junior at Wilcox High School – an ACE grant-winning school

How it all began: As a freshman at Wilcox, our Biology class was prompted with the task to write a grant to reduce our school’s carbon footprint. My friends and I were continually struck by the plastic water bottles strewn about campus and we decided to do some research to try to reduce the numbers of plastic bottles used, sold and bought on our campus.

Why were people using so many plastic water bottles anyway? Turns out, students hated the way our drinking water tasted!  So, we brainstormed and figured placing filters on the water fountains would deal with that problem + encourage students to fill up rather than buy new.

We applied for, and then received, a grant from ACE to purchase water filters and start a campus friendly garden that our culinary class could use.

Red tape: We had the funds, were ready to rock, and then the problems started to arise. Installing watwer filters brought on a deluge of rules and regulations from our school administration. We began to feel discouraged and sad as a year passed and nothing had happened.

Plan B: We were till determined so we went to plan B, research to find another way that our school could say yes to. We discovered that a filtered water distribution machine (rather than filters on taps around school) would meet our needs and enable us to promote a way for students to ditch plastic water bottles and fill up their own bottles. The school was happier and so with more research and time we finally had the machine installed.

Results: Our “U-Fill Center” water distribution machine is situated at the end of the main hallway at one of the busiest sections on campus. At first, we feared that our project was going to be a bust because there was only one machine and we had to get the word out in a big way.

But, California’s heat was our new best friend: with the hot weather and sports being a big part of Wilcox, we soon found that not only was our project not a bust, but it was a major attraction!

After school and before sports, lines of students would form around the machine, with reusable water bottles in tow, awaiting their turn for some delicious new tasting water. And, to knock it out of the park a little farther, clubs on campus began selling reusable water bottles too.

Since we installed the machine, I’ve noticed water bottles hanging from backpacks, clutched in hands and stored in lockers around campus, as well as in the hands of just about every teacher or staff member.

It was eye-opening to me that the big challenge that we faced, which had the potential to shoot us down permanently, was also the same thing that I found rewarding. It was mind boggling to see how many rules and regulations needed to be addressed and sought out just to install our desired machines. And, when we finally prevailed, satisfaction was very, very sweet.

The biggest reward for me is knowing that I helped in making a difference at this school that will forever be there. Every time I see another student use the machine, I know that I helped make it happen-which is awesome too.

Next steps: I am now in my junior year at Wilcox and I have seen our projects blossom into stable attachments to our campus. And, we have not stopped there!

We are currently in the process of writing a new grant to ACE in hopes that we will be able to install Smart Meters on our new science building. This will help Wilcox to further reduce its carbon footprint, by seeing where energy is wasted and how we can make simple changes. As time passes, I am always eager to find new projects and ways to help the school, district, environment and in the big picture, making that much of a difference in the world.