Cast of Nickelodeon’s Victorious! Encourages Schools to Go Green with Eco-Schools USA

The cast of Nickelodeon’s Victorious! (Matt Bennett, Ariana Grande, Elizabeth Gillies, Avan Jogia, Daniella Monet and Leon Thomas III) took time recently to encourage schools to get green through the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nkSFite8T4[/youtube]

They have experienced the work that goes into sustainability first-hand, and they’ve seen some of the results up close. That’s because earlier this spring, the Victorious! stars appeared at Thomas Starr King Middle School, an environmental studies magnet school in Los Angeles, for a unique service event that included a demonstration of practical environmental education by way of hands-on science, math and art lessons in the school’s garden. Eco-Schools USA and Nickelodeon’s The Big Help chose the school as a great example of conserving and teaching about the environment.

As part of the event, the cast helped sixth graders paint, plant, weed and mulch in the organic garden, transforming the urban school grounds into an outdoor classroom where students can hone their science know-how in a green ‘living laboratory.’ You can see photos of the stars helping out here.

Leon Thomas III:

“It was really fun helping out. I was impressed by all of the kids, their dedication and enthusiasm […] the best part of the day is knowing that the garden and the efforts to green the school are ongoing.”

Thomas Starr King has also been featured as an Eco-Schools USA case study. This spring, its students will be tackling three of the Eco-Schools pathways: School Grounds, Green Hour and Consumption and Waste. In the future the school will be expanding its garden thanks to a donation from NWF.

Kim Jones, a teacher at the school and leader of its Eco-Action Team:

“We want to guide our students to be environmental activists starting with our school site […] we want them to understand, and promote awareness, of how one person’s actions can make a difference in protecting the planet”.

If you’d like to learn more, you can check out the Thomas Starr King Middle School Eco-Schools USA case study and see all the registered Eco-Schools (including 81 in California alone).