Students from David Douglas High School presented the Eco Champions recycling initiative to the school board on June 12, explaining how a Metro grant and student leadership produced on-campus recycling bins, outreach materials and partnerships with student organizations.

Nut graf: The initiative, driven by the school's presidential council and campus club leaders, secured a Metro grant that funded recycling bins, created student-facing signage and launched an Instagram outreach campaign; the National Honor Society is collecting cans and removing nonrecyclable contaminant materials as part of the operational plan.

Kiara Gonzalez, introduced as a recent graduate and former ASB vice president of community engagement, described the project timeline: student climate and culture survey results in 2023 flagged a lack of recycling, the presidential council discussed solutions in 2024 and the campus life team applied for an Oregon Metro grant (she identified the grant amount as a "3,016" grant). Talia Reese Gomez, next year's vice president of community engagement, said the district fell within grant boundaries and the program partnered with Elevate Oregon.

Students showed posters and a short Instagram video used to teach peers what is recyclable and to direct correct use of campus bins. The students said they collaborated with the National Honor Society to remove obvious nonrecyclables from bins so the campus would not face contamination fines; NHS members collect cans as a fundraiser and remove trash during cleanups.

Ending: Board members praised the students' leadership and said the project demonstrated durable student-led change at the school.