Gause Elementary in Washougal gets silver certified

WASHOUGAL — Gause Elementary School was certified Silver in the Washington Green School program, which works to create a greener, healthier environment. To reach Silver, schools had to be certified in two areas of conservation. Gause was certified in water and waste reduction. Fourth- and fifth-graders make up the Gause Green Team. Its latest project, following installing milk dispensers to reduce carton waste, was to educate peers about keeping contamination out of storm drains. The project was inspired by the school’s new parking lot, and by the Steigerwald floodplain restoration project. “We learned about what happens to water, and other things, that go down storm drains and how they could adversely affect wildlife, including salmon,” Ellen Lancaster, Green Team adviser and Gause custodian, said in a news release. “I shared with students some very interesting information on the importance of the Pacific Lamprey, an anadromous parasite in our waters, and how what seems like just a little bit of contamination in a storm drain can add up to a big impact when you consider how many drains we have.” Just before the school closures on March 10, the team was able to attend the Student Summit at Clark College and share what it had learned. Participating students were Olive Krysak, Hope Brock, Kyson Zimmerly and Logan Peterson-Prichard.