A trio of Enumclaw schools were honored when the King County Green Schools Program identified buildings that are reducing waste, increasing recycling, conserving resources and cutting costs.

The Green Schools Program provides hands-on help and the tools that schools need – like recycling containers and signs – to make improvements.

The program has served a growing number of schools each year, from 70 schools in 2008 to 251 this year; that’s about half of all K-12 schools in King County outside the city of Seattle.

Both Enumclaw Middle School and Westwood Elementary School were among 45 buildings recognized as Sustaining Green Schools for maintaining Level One, Two and Three practices, and completing an additional conservation action or educational strategy. Level One addresses waste reduction and recycling efforts; Level Two focuses on energy conservation; and Level Three deals with water conservation.

Southwood Elementary was among the Green Schools that maintained Level One waste reduction and recycling practices, and had students learning about and engaging in energy conservation actions.