On April 22, the 33rd Earth Day, Kimberly T. Nelson, chief information officer for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other EPA officials, visited Cold Spring Elementary to recognize their environmental efforts.
“This school is one of the best recycling schools in all Montgomery County,” Nelson said. Nelson also presented the school with a special achievement award for their work.
“This is one of the nicest awards I’ve gotten,” said Principal Martin Burnett.
The EPA officials also demonstrated a feature of the EPA website, www.epa.gov/enviro/wme, which allows users to get local environmental information. The site compiles information from state and EPA databases about such things as water discharge, air emissions, hazardous waste, superfund sites, and more. The information is then presented in colorful maps and displays.
Students found the website informative.
“I would use it for school work and for fun,” said Tim Lenardo, 11.
Others were surprised by the results. “I never knew there were that many forests around here,” said Jeffrey Ford, 11.