Adventure Club Summer Camp (with the theme “The More You Know the Less You Throw”) activities centered on reduction of lunch waste and hazardous waste and included speakers, a trip to a landfill, composting lunch waste, and educating the community and parents about junk mail.  Campers also constructed a junk mail tree forest in the school hallways, and educated their families about getting off junk mail lists.  The campers succeeded in reducing their lunch waste by over 50% by bringing only the amount food they would eat and by packing a “no waste lunch.” The project was continued with the after-school care program during the school year. A Green Guardian picnic for families was held at the end of the year, with waste reduction games and activities.

In 2007-08, 650 residents of Mahtomedi attended the RITE of Spring Earth Day event, where they learned about waste and toxicity reduction and started new waste reducing practices, such as using cloth grocery bags and nontoxic cleaners. In follow-up surveys, 90% of the event attendees reported continuing a behavior learned at the event. The City of White Bear Lake replicated the event. Results of the event were also shared with the Mahtomedi City Council. In addition, middle school students formed an “Environmental Rescue” club that educated the school about recycling resulting in a 50% increase in school recycling of paper, plastic and glass. The club also wheeled recycling bins in the homecoming parade to increase awareness. The school’s art teacher started using reused materials for art projects, and all 4th graders completed a reuse art project.