On November 12, ecomaine officially awarded Gorham High School (GHS) $2,056 for the purchase of reusable forks, spoons, knives, and Melamine lunch trays. The award was a portion of ecomaine’s School Recycling Grant Program funding, which totaled $25,000 this year.

Sophie Kaufman, a junior at GHS, spearheaded the grant application as a part of GHS’ Eco Club’s effort to encourage environmentally-conscious decisions.

The School Recycling Grant Program funding is available to schools within the 70 plus ecomaine member communities. Each school has the chance to receive up to $5,000 of the $25,000 available.

This year, ecomaine had an enormous number of communities ask for help, amounting to over $50,000. Ultimately, 20 Maine schools were awarded portions of the grant funding this fall.

Recipients of the grant money are chosen by ecomaine based on the following four criteria: strong project outline and school commitment; ease of project replication; likelihood of success and program sustainability; and how compelling and worthy the funding is overall.

The GHS Eco Club has been an active voice in local environmental work since its founding last spring. Along with successfully receiving the ecomaine grant, the club has been engaged in many projects within the Gorham community.

The group has talked with young people about the environment during story time at Baxter Memorial Library, held a bottle drive fundraiser, and is organizing the S.E.A. (Save the Earth and Animals) Summit set to occur in the spring.