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Lincoln Middle School has been named the 2012 Maine Environmental Education Association School of the Year. 

The school will be honored at a media conference on April 11 at 10:30 a.m. in the Lincoln library.  Representatives from the Maine Environmental Education Association and KIDS Consortium will participate, along with several Lincoln students. 

Lincoln is being recognized for its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and to increase the school's energy efficiency, mostly through student-led service learning projects.  In recent years, Lincoln students have built a geodesic dome, monitored solar panels on the school roof, tended community gardens on campus and helped design a pilot program to recycle waste from the school cafeteria. 

At the media conference, Lincoln eighth graders will give a keynote that highlights the school’s “green” initiatives.  They will present graphs showing the school’s energy savings and gains.  

Lincoln seventh graders will launch the Global Youth Service Day Challenge to Maine youth to volunteer over Earth Day weekend, April 20- 22.  The Lincoln students hope to encourage at least 600 Maine young people to engage in service projects that benefit their community.  For more information about the event, visit http://www.volunteermaine.org.

Also at the press conference, KIDS Consortium will announce the release of its latest publication, “Integrating Scientific Practices through Service-Learning: Engaging Students in STEM.”  The guide highlights the Youth as Citizen Scientists initiative, which involves more than 1,000 middle-school students at 10 sites across New England and New York, including Lincoln Middle School, in working with their teachers and community partners to address environmental issues such as waste reduction and energy efficiency in their schools.