Pleasant Valley Elementary School

17625 SE Foster Road
Portland, OR 97236
(503) 762-3209

Pleasant Valley Elementary School, with a student population of 530 and a staff of 55, has a proud tradition of resource conservation. It has received numerous waste reduction awards over the years. The school was recently certified as a Premier Oregon Green School for the third time, having first met Premier criteria in 2000.

Every month in its community newsletter, The Pilot Flyer, a “reduce, reuse, recycle” message is included which encourages families to reduce waste at home and at school. In addition, at all community events held at PV where food is served, the lunchroom recycling line is set up to educate the public about what items can be recycled.

The school has found the placement of community paper collection drop boxes to be a popular and profitable community outreach tool. One box is located on campus, and two more are sited at local supermarkets. Each is student-decorated and displays recycling education messages. The school also collects ink cartridges from the public for recycling -- just one of the 26 items that are recycled at PV!

Last fall Tami Norquist’s second-grade classroom celebrated Recycling Awareness Week with school-wide activities and the creation of a family reused Toy/Book Store and a ReUse Fair. They also enjoyed making crafts from reused materials and posters which shared their “green” messages.

Her students practice natural gardening techniques and incorporate compost that was produced in the school’s wormbin into the campus flowerbeds.

Sixth-grade teacher David Scharfenberg and his students are currently undertaking a massive watershed restoration project encompassing seven acres adjacent to the school grounds. This involves removal of several species of plants and planting of natives, establishing a walking path, and producing interpretive materials. The project will be accomplished in stages spread out over several years.