SCHUYLERVILLE, NY – Even in classes like language arts where you probably wouldn't expect it, students at Schuylerville Elementary School always seem to be learning about the environment.

"We're outside a lot more than other schools," fourth grader Kevin Schwerd said, as he and his classmates were dispatched to take nature photos that reminded them of scenes from a book they were reading.

"It’s not good to be sitting at a desk a lot and it gets pretty boring,” classmate Mary McGloine said. “My favorite part is that we get to see different surroundings."

It's been five years since a group of parents, including Deborah McGloine, approached district leaders about making the school more environmentally conscious.

"I was reading that most waste in landfills comes from school cafeterias, it's a great place to start," McGloine said.

In the time since, the school's Green Ribbon initiative has included dozens of eco-friendly projects, ranging from an outdoor classroom to more efficient lighting and water fountains that curtail the use of plastic bottles. The school's own compost is used to make soil at a local farm.

"We have three recycling stations and composting stations in the cafeteria," McGloine said. "We're going to divert 44,000 pounds of waste in one school, in just one cafeteria."

"You start out on one side and there's a bin for recycling, a bin for compost and a bin for trash," Schwerd said.

The combined effort of volunteers, teachers and students is paying off. Last week, Schuylerville was one of 46 schools in the country and the only in New York to be named a "Green Ribbon School" by the U.S. Department of Education.

"If you were in our auditorium the other day when our name popped up, the loud news was kind of overwhelming,” principal Gregg Barthelmas said.” But yet, so exciting to see them so excited."

"It was pretty amazing," Mary McGloine said.

"Now I can brag to my cousins because they're not a Green Ribbon School," Schwerd said.

Leaders from more than 30 local districts will visit Schuylerville next month to learn about the program. More than recognition, they're hopeful it sparks others to take greater care of their environment.

"The kids are our hope,” Deborah McGloine said as she watched her daughter’s class move through lesson in the outdoor classroom. “They are going to be the ones that make a difference in the world."

"This is our world and we need to save it because we only have one world," Mary McGloine said.