Contact: Kathleen Herron, Riverside Elementary School, @email, 8410 Old Mt. Vernon Rd, Alexandria, VA 22309, (703)799-6000

Alexandria, VA, September 28, 2022– On June 9, 2022, Riverside Elementary School was recognized by National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program for exceptional achievement in educating for sustainability, improving the environmental footprint of the school grounds, facility and curriculum. Riverside ES earned their first Green Flag in May 2020, and their continued work with environmental education and sustainability led them to earn a second Green Flag. In Fairfax County Public Schools, there are 147 schools registered in the Eco-Schools USA program. 18 FCPS schools have earned a Green Flag, and 7 of those schools, including Riverside ES, have earned more than one Green Flag.

With more than 5,500 schools in all 50 states, the Eco-Schools USA program is based on the commitment and work of student-driven teams dedicated to issues such as reducing waste and consumption, climate resiliency, and environmental justice using audits, action plans, and other educational resources.

"National Wildlife Federation and Eco-Schools USA are proud of the example set by Riverside Elementary School in Virginia” said Elizabeth Soper, Senior Director of K-12 Education Programs. “This award demonstrates not only a commitment to sustainability and environmental literacy for students and faculty, but as well, recognition by the school community that environment-based education supports and provides an effective approach to student learning and leadership.”

To receive the Second Green Flag, Riverside Elementary School’s students and faculty needed to show continued work on a host of sustainability initiatives that began with forming an Eco-Action tea, auditing environmental focus areas, and engaging and building community. These steps led to creating a student-designed Outdoor Education website. All activities were focused on raising environmental awareness, connecting students to the natural world, improving the schools environmental footprint, conserving energy, and increasing student engagement.

National Wildlife Federation was named the stateside host for the international Eco-Schools program in 2008. The International Eco-Schools program (http://www.ecoschools.global) is a network of over 56,000 K-12 schools in 70 nations, started in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) with support from the European Commission. It was named by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) as a model initiative for Education for Sustainable Development in 2003 and in 2016 were included as members of United Nationals Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Global Action Program (GAP).

Learn more about Eco-Schools USA, http://www.nwf.org/eco-schools-usa. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The National Wildlife Federation is America’s largest conservation organization, uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world.