Baltimore County Celebrates Ten Years of its Clean Green 15 Litter Challenge

TOWSON, MD – Twenty-four Baltimore County public schools were today awarded $38,000 in environmental literacy grants for their outstanding clean-up initiatives during Clean Green 15 Litter Challenge. During this year’s challenge, 6,874 volunteers from schools and community-based groups conducted a record-breaking 502 clean-ups, filling 3,228 bags with litter that could have made its way into streams and the Chesapeake Bay.

Since 2014, this innovative program has engaged more than 50,000 Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) students, staff and community members, who participated in more than 3,300 hands-on litter clean-ups, removing nearly 325,000 pounds of trash from our communities, preventing it from polluting local waterways. The challenge continues to grow, with 54 percent more bags collected this year compared to the 2022/2023 school year cycle. year.

“It is rewarding to see the ways in which keeping our communities and waterways litter free is a priority for our young people, and I am grateful for the hard work volunteers put in to make Baltimore County cleaner and greener,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “The more than $38,000 in prize funds awarded to schools for environmental literacy projects are sure to have a lasting impact on students for years to come.”
 
A Continuing Collaboration
 
The challenge, a joint program of the Olszewski administration, BCPS, and the Education Foundation of BCPS, actively engages students and community members in removing litter from their communities. The Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability and BGE sponsored this year’s challenge, and Padonia Park Club hosted the awards ceremony and 10-year anniversary celebration.
 
“It is exciting to see such enthusiasm among our students, staff, schools, and community partners in doing what they can to keep our schools and grounds clean and inviting,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers. “They understand the value of having a clean and healthy school and community environment and how their work contributes to the educational experience and to being responsible, caring citizens. Congratulations to all those who are being recognized through Clean Green 15.”
 
2023/2024 Clean Green 15 Results
 
Through the litter challenge, BCPS schools and their community supporters competed from May 2023 through April 2024 to see which school communities could record the most litter cleanups, small or large. The program is open to any group, including school-based groups, places of worship, youth groups, civic or community groups, scout troops, sports teams, businesses or other organizations, that wish to help clean up their community. Groups are asked to report their cleanups on the Clean Green 15 hub website, and designate a BCPS school to receive credit toward the grant competition.
 
Besides picking up litter, Clean Green 15 volunteers collected many tons of bulk trash items from parks, streambanks, schoolyards and other locations all around Baltimore County. The estimated weight total for this year is 19,132 pounds. Clean-ups included schoolchildren organized by teachers during the school day as well as community-based activity.
 
The Education Foundation of Baltimore County will award grants to the top 24 winning schools to fund school-based instructional projects emphasizing the theme of environmental literacy. Examples could include such projects as installing a reading garden or rain garden, planting trees, field trips, diverting downspouts and environmental education projects.

Team BCPS Clean Green 15 Litter Challenge
Winning Schools – School Year 2023 – 2024

Next Year’s Clean Green 15 Litter Challenge is Underway
In addition to awarding prizes to the winning schools from this year, officials also promoted participation in next year’s Team BCPS Clean Green 15 Litter, with groups eligible to log cleanups from May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2025 for consideration in the next awards cycle.