Herndon High School
Herndon, VA

SAGA Earns National Award for Protecting Environment
By Jason Hornick
Observer Staff Writer

September 19, 2003 - After the marching band played the Herndon High School fight song on Tuesday, Lois Gibbs, executive director for The Center for Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ), presented Students Against Global Abuse (SAGA) with the inaugural Green Flag award.

The award recognizes Herndon for its environmental achievement as SAGA members annually recycle more than 100 tons of paper and other waste. Only 14 schools in nine states will receive the Green Flag award this year, and Herndon is the only public high school to be honored.

CHEJ, a national environmental organization based in Falls Church, piloted the Green Flag Program this year as part of its Child Proofing Our Communities Campaign. Green Flag focuses on four areas--integrated pest management, recycling, indoor air quality and non-toxic products--to help stop environmental hazards in schools before they become a serious problem. Each school attaining a level three, the highest recognition, will be presented with a patch in each area. Herndon has received the patch for recycling, to add to its green flag.

"I will look forward to coming back when you fill in all the patches," said Gibbs.

Gary Gepford, Herndon High School teacher and coordinator of SAGA, said "it will be soon."

Gibbs, who founded CHEJ in 1981, said Herndon was "way above the curve of any other school in the country." She said the purpose of the program was to "see if we can create a much safer environment in which to learn and to play."

To date, SAGA, founded in 1989, has recycled more than 2.5 million pounds of trash. The 65 students involved with the group presently work with 150 offices, libraries and schools, instituting recycling programs. "We are hoping in the near future to get all of our feeder schools to become involved in the Green Flag movement," said Gepford.

SAGA has also earned $250,000 in college scholarship money, which the group earned almost solely though selling recyclables. The organization also has a green house program that rescues native species of plants from development sites and transplanting the plants in local parks.

Also speaking at the ceremony was Sen. Janet Howell (D-32), Del. Tom Rust (R-86) and Fairfax County Supervisor Stu Mendelsohn (R-Dranesville).

"What you all are doing with SAGA and other things just makes me so proud," said Rust. "These are cutting edge things and you will be right at the forefront of them."

Mendelsohn said when he was first elected to the Board of Supervisors the word "environment" was not located in any of his campaign literature. "You all educated me as an elected official," said Mendelsohn. "The entire community is better off for the work you have done."