On October 24th, Earth Day Network unveiled an Earth-friendly “Green Makeover” for Bloom High School in Chicago Heights that educated students and made the school more environmentally friendly. The campus is now home to a 36-panel, 6 kilowatt photovoltaic system, a professional greenhouse, a restored prairie, and two living walls – vertical rows of plants that filter air and water. Hundreds of students, teachers, volunteers, and representatives of environmental education groups participated in the greening of Bloom High School.

Leading up to and culminating on Friday, October 24th, Bloom’s “Green Makeover” consisted of the following:

The event was a tremendous success that saw significant support from the community, Bloom staff, and the student body. Several elected officials, including President-elect Barack Obama, sent letters of commendation, and the event was covered by local media including the Chicago Tribune. Over 400 students were very involved in the greening activities, and dozens of students helped install the solar panels! Nearly 85 percent of the students who participated in the project or attended the Earth Fair learned “a lot” about an environmental topic such as sustainability, organic food, renewable energy, and the importance of environmental stewardship. The fair inspired many students to become future leaders in their community as evident by the observation of one volunteer; “the look on the children’s faces was amazing.”