If you didn’t know better, you’d think Whitehall Middle School’s school colors were shades of green, instead of red and black. Whitehall students, passionate about the environment, have made a name for themselves the past three years by winning multiple times in the Lexus Eco Challenge, a national STEM competition. This competition, funded by Toyota Motor Sales USA and administered by Scholastic, inspires students in grades six through 12 to design and implement environmental projects in their schools and communities.
 
In past years, Whitehall Middle School students promoted tap water over bottled water and started a school composting program to raise awareness about food waste.
 
This year, the school has three different teams that won in the first round and have moved onto the Final Challenge round -- the Upcycling Vikes, the Bead Banishers and the Ring, Ring Recyclers.
 
These Whitehall Middle School teams were three of the four middle school teams selected from a 13-state region, and their hard work in helping the school go green has netted some serious green for the team members and the school -- $30,000 in grants and scholarships.
 
The Upcycling Vikes team made it to the Final Challenge by winning the Air/Climate Challenge with a community Halloween costume swap project. More than 80 people attended the event in early October -- swapping costumes and playing eco-friendly games. The group raised almost $200 in donations for Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and had about 70 costumes left over at the end of the night, which were donated to families at Webster House/Every Woman’s Place shelter in Muskegon.
 
For its final round project, the Upcycling Vikes team conducted a denim drive to educate the public about the environmental impact of clothing, as well as do some social good with unwanted jeans. The team plans to donate wearable jeans to the White Lake Giving Closet and the Muskegon Rescue Mission. Jeans with rips or stains, but that are still usable will be upcycled into a denim quilt that will be donated to Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity, and jeans that aren’t usable will be sent to a company that recycles them into cotton insulation. In the words of team member Sophia Bultema, “It’s Jeanious!”
 
The team was excited to learn from Jodi Nichols, executive director of the Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity, that Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity is celebrating 30 years in the community by conducting an Upcycling Challenge this spring. Upcycled items will be sold this summer at the Muskegon Art Fair to raise money for constructing Habitat homes in Muskegon County. After hearing about the quilt that the team is making, Nichols has invited the students to a pre-art fair reception where their quilt might be auctioned off on behalf of the charity.
 
The Ring, Ring Recyclers also were winners in the Air/Climate Challenge with a project to create a school recycling center. They worked hard through the fall to clean, paint, and organize a former storage room in the school to become a recycling room that can be utilized by all Whitehall Middle School students. They also organized a cell phone and phone book recycling drive for America Recycles Day in November. America Recycles Day is an event sponsored by Keep America Beautiful. The team has collected almost 100 cell phones that will be sent to the Cincinnati Zoo for its Go Bananas Challenge.
 
For its Final Challenge project, the Ring, Ring Recyclers team is finishing up the recycling center, as well as selling travel coffee mugs printed with the school’s mascot. These reusable mugs will be accepted at the concession stand at Whitehall athletic events for a 25 cents discount on coffee or hot cocoa. Members of the team are also working with district administrators to develop a sustainable recycling plan for the entire district.
 
The school’s first ever winning team in the Land/Water Challenge, the Bead Banishers, created a project that educated Whitehall Middle School students and local businesses about the dangers of plastic microbeads in the Great Lakes. These small polyethylene spheres are found in many facial scrubs, body washes and some toothpastes. Because of their small size, they wash down the drain, through filters at wastewater treatment plants and right out into lakes and rivers. These microbeads, which can absorb toxins and provide a surface for biofilms, are often ingested by fish, birds and other marine species that mistake them for food.
 
With consumer and legislative pressure, many personal care product companies have pledged to phase out plastic microbeads in the next few years. However, the Bead Banishers aren’t satisfied with this and hope that by educating the public, people will vote with their wallets and refuse to buy products containing the plastic.
 
The Bead Banishers created window decals for businesses, which they delivered throughout Whitehall and Montague. In addition, an educational program and pledge cards were delivered to the school’s science teachers to be used in their classes. After learning about the impact of microbeads, over 300 WMS students pledged to “Banish the Bead.” After learning about their project through social media (@BeadBanishers on Twitter), the Alliance for the Great Lakes featured the team in its e-newsletter.
 
For its Final Challenge project, the Bead Banishers team is writing a children’s book, “Billy the Bluegill and the Microbead Mishap,” that will be self-published and donated to every third grade classroom in Muskegon County.
 
You can follow these projects on Facebook.