Dave Fehler, special programs employment specialist at West Salem High School, stands with students, displaying their school's green efforts at the Oregon Green School Summit, March 5, 2009.

Today is Earth Day. It’s a great reminder of how we can take small steps to make a big difference. Several of our schools have recycling programs and participate in Watt Watchers to reduce energy use.

Many of our schools participate in the Oregon Green School program. In March, the Oregon Green School Summit was held at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Schools from all over Oregon gathered to share ideas on how to save energy and reduce waste. The cost of the event, food, and transportation was completely covered by sponsors.

Being resourceful can help the district save money. Here are a few ways that our district is trying to increase savings:

Computers – Possible savings - more than $150,000

• Turn off your monitor if you are not going to be “right back"

• Always turn off your computer, printer, and speakers at the end of the day or if you are leaving for a couple of hours

• Screen savers use as much electricity as active software such as Word or Excel

• Your computer and monitor are built to be turned on and off more than 40,000 times. That’s about 40 times every workday for 5 years.

• Turn off the lights when you leave an empty room

• Replace incandescent lights with compact fluorescents

• Turning lights off saves electricity as well as costs for replacements and labor 

• Turn off the faucet if you are not using it

• Please report leaky faucets or toilets because one leak can waste hundreds of gallons per week

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