JUNCTION CITY, Ore. — Applications are open for BRING’s free K-12 Sustainability Education Program for the 2025-26 school year.
For teachers like Rachael Odell at Oaklea Middle School in Junction City, the program is a way for her students to learn how to create a sustainable environment.
“We are a lower income school and so we can’t always pay for buses, so having them come here and talk about sustainability and impact is super awesome,” Odell said. “A lot of these kids don’t know this stuff and we are still learning, so I think it’s great that we have this opportunity and they can learn how to make better choices.”
This school year is the first time Odell has used the program.
“I think its super great. It looks like they are having fun, so far, looking at the trash and seeing where it goes. They were really engaged during the lesson, so I thought it was really awesome,” she said.
BRING, which has operated a nonprofit store that offers sustainable building materials, offers its sustainability educational program to local businesses and schools.
The program’s goal is to inspire kids to learn more about the environment and take what they learn to use in their everyday lives, according to BRING Executive Director Sonya Carlson.
“Recycling and trash is not always at the forefront of people minds. They want to, you know, get rid of it and get it out of their lives, but it has a whole life of its own after it leaves your house,” she said.
“It’s wonderful. We love to know that the information that we are sharing is useful and relevant to [teachers’] curriculum,” BRING Waste Prevention Education Coordinator Jack Greenburg said.
For schools, the educational program is free, with classes scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.