Last Edited:
June 13, 2023 @ 7:41 am
Montgomery County, TN – A green ribbon cutting was held on Tuesday, February 1st to welcome Clarksville High School (CHS) to the Green Certification Program. CHS becomes the first high school in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) to complete the Program.
The Certification efforts were led by Zander Daigle, a junior at CHS, and Melissa Nolan, CHS’ AP Environmental teacher. In the fall of 2021, Mr. Daigle, with oversight by Ms. Nolan, created the CHS Environmental Club, the first club of its kind in CMCSS. The Club now has 74 students who participate in meetings and events such as community clean-ups.
To complete the Certification process, Mr. Daigle researched and completed a baseline account of current CHS sustainability efforts such as LED lighting, low-flow water fixtures, paper usage and maintenance procedures. After reviewing current practices, the school was able to join the Program at the silver level.
During the ceremony, Mr. Daigle gave a short speech and said “Whenever I first took it upon myself to found the first ever environment club for CHS, I did not realize that a small high school club would be able to accomplish so much in our first few months of existence. I symbolize this ribbon cutting ceremony to serve as inspiration to the younger generation not only surrounding me, but in the entire Clarksville-Montgomery County area. I hope that my actions will serve as inspiration; that even one student in a large high school can make such an immense change. I hope that this change has a domino effect in order to ensure the future generations with a safe environment to live in.”
In addition to their work at CHS, Mr. Daigle, and students from the Environmental Club, have been attending the City of Clarksville Sustainability Board Meetings and plan to assist the Board Members in the future as they promote sustainability initiatives throughout the City and County.
The green ribbon cutting ceremony was also attended by: Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett; Interim Director of CMCSS Dr. Angela Huff; Chief Operating Officer of CMCSS Norm Brumblay; CHS Principal Bryan Feldman; Green Certification Program Manager Carlye Sommers; Green Certification Board Members Bill Harpel, Rose Melton and Sierra Allison; and Officers of the CHS Environmental Club Avery Dueker, Maia Skinner, Lydia Lewis, Betty Kilfe, Karmina Sidhom and Carly Surgeon.
During the ceremony, both Mayor Durrett and Dr. Huff congratulated the students and thanked them for the work they have done not only for the school but also for the community.
For more information about Clarksville High School and all of the other public schools within Montgomery County, visit www.cmcss.net.To learn more about the free Clarksville-Montgomery County Green Certification Program visit http://mcgtn.org/green.
Pictured Back Row (left to right) – Jim Durrett, Avery Dueker, Bryan Feldman, Bill Harpel, Dr. Angela Huff, Carlye Sommers
Front Row (left to right) – Maia Skinner, Lydia Lewis, Zander Daigle, Melissa Nolan, Betty Kilfe, Karmina Sidhom, Carly Surgeon
Ribbon Holders/Cutters (left to right) – Rose Melton, Sierra Allison