Success Stories

16 Sep 2004 - The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Environment and Ecology, recognized the efforts of Lake Erie-Allegheny (LEA) Earth Force at the Governor’s Institute at the end of July. More...

6 Aug 2009 - Girl Scout Troop #30636 earned their Girl Scout Gold Award through the development of a educational package that meets the PA Academic Standard for Environment and Ecology. More...

7 Jul 2009 - Five students from the SSJ Neighborhood Network explored with Sr. Carol Wilcox the proper disposal of pharmaceuticals. More...

7 Jul 2009 - The Big Business Fight is a puppet show that grew out of the Endangered Animal research. More...

2 Jul 2009 - The Green Team at Collegiate Academy is dedicated to promoting the message of environmentalism and conservation More...

1 Jul 2009 - We all need water—to drink, to grow and to play. So when the students at the Neighborhood Art House discovered More...

1 Jul 2009 - Students at the Neighborhood Art House made quite a buzz about bees this spring. More...

1 Jul 2009 - Thirty homes benefited from the Window Insulation Projects that youth from Booker T. Washington and Mary the Apostle Catholic Worker community More...

17 Jun 2009 - This year, our project involves the cigarette butts on Presque Isle beaches. Our group has gathered information of how the cigarette butt's toxins leech into the waters that we swim in. More...

17 Jun 2009 - Klein School Elementary School adds composting to their recycling program. More...

29 May 2009 - Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, March 11, 2009 - Forget thin mints and wrapping paper, students from Propel East are selling Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL’s) More...

12 May 2009 - At Erie Day School our Earth Force group has tackled three different projects: use of green cleaning products, the "hair for oil spills" program and composting. More...

12 May 2009 - The Green Team is an environmental service organization and outing club. We work within our school community in Hermitage as well as the Shenango Valley community which includes Hermitage and Sharon. More...

12 May 2009 - Students from House of Mercy, working with Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force in Pennsylvania, were recent finalists in a national service learning video contest! Read on to find out how they did. More...

15 Sep 2008 - The Catholic Worker House on 22nd Street invited the neighborhood youth to participate in the development of a recently vacated lot. More...

4 Aug 2008 - Glenwood Elementary students from 5th and 6th Grade girls were introduced to the Maritime Life in Erie More...

4 Aug 2008 - Youth at the John E. Horan Garden Apartments partnered with the Master Gardeners and adults in their community to design, plant and harvest their first vegetable garden. View their picture show More...

4 Aug 2008 - During the summer months, students at the House of Mercy completed a climate change project that began with an investigation of climate, weather, ecosystems, and renewable and non-renewable resources More...

4 Aug 2008 - Neighborhood Art House students completed a recycling project and became experts on each stage of the recycling process from the purchase of goods to the use of post-consumer waste More...

4 Aug 2008 - Students at the Neighborhood Art House worked on a non-point source pollution project culminating in a day of storm drain stenciling More...

4 Aug 2008 - Students at the House of Mercy focused on the watershed in their neighborhood: McDannell Run Watershed More...

4 Aug 2008 - Students at the Erie Heights YMCA Library have been working on becoming expert gardeners this year More...

4 Aug 2008 - Bottled Up – you have your own company in your faucet challenges people to just say no to bottled water and use tap water instead. Jr. PLEWA members conducted blind taste tests More...

24 Jul 2008 - This project used the combined forces of the House of Mercy, J.E. Horan Garden Apartments, Edison Elementary School, and Perseus House of Excellence Center of Maritime Studies. More...

24 Jul 2008 - This after school group met once a month to explore local parks. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Four very responsible and dedicated young people recognized a need to help their neighbors become more environmentally aware. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Tackling the problem of recycling became the focus of the Earth Force students at Ridgefield Elementary. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The second semester, Danielle Baltes continued with another group of students from the Pfeiffer-Burleigh CHAMPS Program. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Thanks to the hard work and persuasive powers of the Earth Force students this school will no longer use styrofoam trays in the cafeteria. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The Honeysuckle sounds like it is a beautiful plant but in Scott Park it has taken over as an invasive species. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Park Forest Elementary located in State College, Pennsylvania was thoroughly involved with Earth Force during the school year. Eighty environmentally aware fifth grade students participated in four different projects. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Changing the World, One Light Bulb at a Time! was the goal of Brenda Khayat’s class. The students worked hard to raise money and CFLs in order to provide at least one bulb to every student and staff member. More...

24 Jul 2008 - All-school Composting was a project that was promoted and implemented by Jennifer Cody’s fifth grade class. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The AP Environmental Science students, facilitated by teacher Doreen Petri and supported by the PA Department of Environmental Protection, conducted an energy audit of the Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Tree Planting was the project goal for Natalie Christensen’s class. The students investigated the importance of trees, types of native trees and their importance, the difference between deciduous and coniferous trees, and how to plant and care for a tree. More...

24 Jul 2008 - - Watershed Education at Pfeiffer-Burleigh CHAMPS Program
Danielle Baltes guided the students at the Pfeiffer Burleigh CHAMPS Program More...

24 Jul 2008 - Project two was directed by Lillian Rose working with the 5th and 6th grade students. This project involved the personal environment of the students – their bodies. This project was centered a round wellness. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Window clings with a project motto, a Multicultural Fair, and active tolerance lessons were all ways in which the 8th grade Honors Class at JoAnna Connell School spread the word of tolerance to other students in their school and in the Erie community. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The students at Klein school undertook the study of two different issues in the 2007-2008 school year. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Fifty seven middle school students learned about environmental science using innovative and creative ideas for “recycled” Christmas presents giving new meaning to the term “regifting” More...

24 Jul 2008 - The 6- 9 year olds continued their project from last year. Last year they had established an edible garden at Montessori and this year they looked at what worked, what didn’t and decided to try some alternatives. More...

24 Jul 2008 - These students worked in partnership with the Waste Management Lakeview Landfill to complete their first Earth Force assignment. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The 3rd graders at Erie Day school investigated the waste in the school cafeteria. They discovered that there was a lot of biodegradable waste in the trash cans. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The Inner-city Neighborhood Art House engaged in an after school project that was a continuation of the previous year’s project. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Music out of Mercer County became the focus to help educate 3rd and 4th grade students about the values of a watershed. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Nonpoint source pollution was studied by the students in the CHAMPS after school program. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Improvement of the existing Outdoor Learning Center at Conneaut Valley Elementary School was the topic for sixty 6th Graders. More...

24 Jul 2008 - You haven’t lived until you have recycled became the motto of the Environmental Club students at the Erie Day School. More...

24 Jul 2008 - The second semester former club member returned and new ones joined to study nonpoint source pollution and after presenting the idea to the school board and receiving approval the students created an environmental rain garden on the school grounds and a rain barrel collection project for this courtyard garden to reduce run-off. More...

24 Jul 2008 - Under the guidance of Lannea Derooy, the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students of Blessed Sacrament School worked to educate all members of their school on the effects of storm drain pollution. More...

7 Feb 2008 - Mrs. Z’s Super Seventh Graders!!
Mrs. Zajicek’s seventh graders at Moon Area Middle School have started their Earth Force year by getting dirty and cleaning up the nature trail adjacent to their school grounds. More...

30 Jul 2007 - On March 20th we received a grant of $400 from the Erie Community Foundation for compact fluorescent light bulbs. Twelve families will receive three fluorescent light bulbs to use in their homes More...

30 Jul 2007 - Some garbage blew into our schoolyard. They were amazed by the amount of garbage that existed in our schoolyard as the result of point source and nonpoint source pollution. More...

30 Jul 2007 - Each student got their own one square foot plot for growing. We researched different fruits and vegetables. We looked at growing seasons, native crops and space needed. Then we decided what we wanted to plant in our squares. More...

30 Jul 2007 - We are the Erie Heights Earth Force Group. Our project is an organic community garden.

By the end of March we had surveyed the property at Erie Heights and picked out a location for our garden. More...

30 Jul 2007 - This year we successfully passed a resolution through Erie City Council that requires all public buildings to have a smoking station on their property outside. More...

30 Jul 2007 - We wanted to beautify our school grounds and to attract local butterflies by using native species. More...

30 Jul 2007 - We are the Skate Erie Adolescents. Our ultimate goal is to get a public skate park built in Erie. More...

30 Jul 2007 - Our team decided to study the rainforest and what we are doing to destroy it. Bananas, pineapples, papaya, coffee, cocoa, and beef are all major food products of the rainforest region. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Many people are not aware of the small but significant actions that can be taken in their own home to lesson their impact on the environment. More...

20 Jun 2007 - We began our investigation into alternative energy sources. We looked at wind, water and solar power. We also looked at bio-fuels. Through hands-on activities we investigated how these technologies worked. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Our class has been working on water quality monitoring of the springs and streams that feed the Allegany River near our school. We have found that some of the springs and streams are very healthy while one of the streams behind our school is not. More...

20 Jun 2007 - We’d like to tell you about all that we’ve been doing this year to help make a difference in our community. More...

20 Jun 2007 - The fifth grade gave tips on what to compost and what not to compost. The whole school now uses the cafeteria’s compost bin. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Focusing on energy conservation, Hermitage Middle School designed and constructed solar ovens, sold compact flourescent bulbs throughout April and created a long term energy project for their future. More...

20 Jun 2007 - The AP Environmental Science students, led by teacher Mrs. Doreen Petri, conducted an energy audit of Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy. After researching global warming, energy efficiency, and learning about Governor Rendell’s Energy Independence Strategy, the students decided to find ways to make their school more energy efficient. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Harding Earth Force chose to focus on our school yard habitat as their sustainable project for the year as well as many more smaller projects. More...

20 Jun 2007 - We learned about garbage and how important it is to recycle. We conducted a survey in our neighborhood to find out how many people recycle. The results didn’t look pretty. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Thirteen students at Peabody High School, who are participating as part of the Earth Force project in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh's CAST program have been working to make a difference by recycling trash and keeping their school and communities clean More...

20 Jun 2007 - Our project is to protect our stream banks from erosion. We have studied what erosion is, we learned about the water cycle, and we learned what is in the soil. We are planning to clean up the stream and plant a butterfly garden. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Second graders at Claysville Elementary got passionate about energy conservation this spring. More...

20 Jun 2007 - Our fifth grade Earth Force team has taken on water quality issues this year and voted to adopt “storm drain stenciling” as our 2006-2007 Earth Force project. In order to ensure that Buffalo Creek remains a stream of good quality, we decided to take action and stencil Claysville’s storm drains with the words “No Dumping!” and a fish symbol. Prevention is the key in keeping Buffalo Creek healthy. More...

11 Jul 2006 - Impassioned by their unit on insects, Ms. Sacca’s 2nd grade class at Allegheny Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh beautified their school and improved the habitat for native butterflies and birds for their Earth Force project. More...

11 Jul 2006 - Fifth grade students at Claysville Elementary School felt that it was about time they had paper recycling in their school and community. They learned about a company that would actually pay the school to recycle, and this seemed exactly what they were looking for. More...

11 Jul 2006 - MRS. WITTFELDT’S 4TH GRADE CLASS AT ALLEGHENY TRADITIONAL ACADEMY ELEMENTARY ON THE NORTHSIDE OF PITTSBURGH LEARNED ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF WATER ISSUES. THEY STUDIED WATERSHEDS, WATER POLLUTION, WATER FILTRATION, AND WATER CONSERVATION. THEY DECIDED TO DO THEIR EARTH FORCE PROJECT ON WATER CONSERVATION BECAUSE THEY FELT THEY’D HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT IN THAT AREA. More...

6 Jul 2006 - Mr. Weiss’s class 7C at Schiller Classical Academy is educating their community about non-point source pollution entering Pittsburgh’s Rivers through the City’s storm drains. Armed with spray paint and stencils, these students are letting people know that litter in the storm drains is non-point source pollution in Pittsburgh's rivers. More...

30 Jun 2006 - After a walk around their school grounds Mrs. Ward’s 2nd grade class realized there wasn't a place to put trash. In addition to spoiling the beauty of their campus, litter was also a threat to the stream that runs along the side of the Joe Walker Elementary School campus. More...

28 Mar 2006 - The Earth Force Students at the House of Mercy have been reaching out to their neighborhood. More...

27 Mar 2006 - Students from J.S. Wilson Middle School decided to study geothermal energy as their Earth Force Project. More...

27 Mar 2006 - The 7th graders at Blessed Sacrament School chose to raise public awareness concerning a problem with litter around their school campus. More...

3 Mar 2006 - Students at North East Middle School started an Earth Force Explore group because they care about the world and want to improve their community. They learned a lot about the environmental conditions in their community, and finally decided to do their project in the Middle School. More...

3 Mar 2006 - The 5th and 8th grade students at Holy Family School decided that
for their Earth Force project they wanted to work on the invasive species problem that is affecting the Great Lakes. More...

2 Mar 2006 - The first and 2nd grade students at Erie's Montessori Regional Charter School decided they wanted to stop wasting food in their classroom. More...

2 Mar 2006 - This year, the Kindergarten students from Erie's Montessori Regional Charter School,decided to test their school's drinking water. More...

3 Feb 2006 - Blessed Sacrament School students wanted to increase the school’s knowledge on how to reduce waste and garbage in their everyday lives. More...

3 Feb 2006 - The 5th graders at Edison School have adopted McDannel Run and are working at reducing litter and preventing dumping. More...

23 Jun 2005 - Students at Dickson Intermediate School learned about conservation in their own school and used their new knowledge to educate not only their local but also their global community by inviting four international visitors to learn about their project. More...

23 Jun 2005 - This year, students at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh completed a wide variety of Earth Force projects working in small groups. Projects included adopting a ball field, cleaning up a park, increasing recycling, and more. More...

3 Apr 2005 - St. James second and third graders added a window well and a butterfly garden to their school's entrance to create a more beautiful and cleaner environment. More...

23 Jun 2005 - The Pittsburgh Youth Action Board learned about the health effects of diesel exhaust and came up with a creative way to educate the public by making an interactive labyrinth. More...

26 Apr 2005 - Villa Maria Elementary School Students test soil, identify trees, predict water flow, check strom drains, record barren spots as part of their school property assessment. Read the article published in Erie Times News April 22, 2005 More...

28 Mar 2005 -

*At it's peak in the 1920s, over 140 fishing tugs steamed out of Erie's harbor, bringing their catch back to the city's 14 fish processing plants. Commercial fishing was a million dollar a year industry, employing 3,500 men full time. In 1920, the Chamber of Commerce proclaimed Erie "the Fresh Water Fishing Capital of the World." By the late 1990s Erie's commercial fishing fleet had dwindled down to just a few boats. Earth Force students at Klein School want to know why.

More...

15 Feb 2005 - Stream Protection - Hermitage Middle School students, in Hermitage, PA are working to protect the Pine Hollow Run steam that flows behind their school and continues behind the Super-Wal Mart Development. More...

10 Feb 2005 - Earth Force students at the Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy in Erie, PA., are exploring their watersheds and looking into identifying and reclaiming wetlands areas, restoring stream bank areas and even relocating a stream to keep it clear from a landfill!  More...

19 Oct 2004 - When the morning sixth-grade service learning class at Skinner Middle School saw that many of their fellow students were attending classes without proper supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks and agendas), they tackled the problem with a project called “Making School Supplies More Available.” More...

27 Sep 2004 - Great Lakes Youth: Energy that Powers the Future was the theme for the annual Great Lakes Youth Summit. From May 12-14, 130 students and instructors from New York, Pennsylvania and Canada, gathered at the University of Buffalo to take an active role in the protection of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem. More...

22 Sep 2004 - Forty five 6th graders at Klein Elementary School decided to make a difference in their community by selecting litter for their Earth Force project. More...

22 Sep 2004 - It isn’t a film, but the sixth graders from the Wattsburg Area Middle School did shoot their first video! The students decided to express their concerns for littering by making a video to show to the over 500 students in their school. More...

22 Sep 2004 - This past school year juniors and seniors in two environmental science courses at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh launched campaigns to raise awareness about topics ranging from promoting energy-saving light bulbs to reducing plastic bag use and knowing where to go for help with environmental problems. More...

22 Sep 2004 - Unique partnerships with Chatham College in Pittsburgh and Allegheny College in Meadville were developed in 2003-2004. More...