Acclaiming 11 years of school and community clean-up efforts, Baltimore County’s Clean Green 15 Litter Challenge program, on Wednesday, June 11, rewarded outstanding school clean-up efforts with $43,000 in environmental literacy grant prizes.
The annual Clean Green 15 competition challenges schools and volunteers to engage in quick, 15-minute local litter clean-up events.
As a result of the program’s cleanups during the 2024-25 school year, 27 Baltimore County public schools earned grant awards of between $900 and $3,000 to support school-based environmental projects and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics resources.
“Congratulations to all those who participated in helping to keep our schools, grounds, and communities
clean and green,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers. “Their efforts through Clean Green 15 will create dividends for years to come. Caring for the environment, their schools, and neighborhoods
has benefits that touch on the health, well-being, and success of our students and their families, and their work today will go a long way to creating responsible, caring citizens tomorrow.”
“Baltimore County is home to miles of beautiful shoreline, acres of forested parkland, and communities full of people who deserve a clean and healthy environment,” said Baltimore County Executive Kathy
Klausmeier.
“The Clean Green 15 Litter Challenge is a great way to tap into residents’ community pride
so we can eliminate litter in our neighborhoods and build a cleaner, greener future together.”
While both the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability and The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc., contributed $23,000 for the cleanups this year, the Baltimore Community Foundation provided an additional $20,000 in grant monies to fund Green Boost Grants, which focus on BCPS Community Schools within the Gwynns Falls and Jones Falls watersheds.
Baltimore County is under state and federal mandates to reduce the amount of trash in these two waterways. Community Schools are public schools that offer additional services to support students, families and students.
The following prizes were awarded:
Grand Prize Volunteers ($3,000) – Pinewood Elementary School
Grand Prize Cleanup Results ($3,000) – Catonsville Elementary School
1st Prizes ($2,000 each)
• Carney Elementary School
• Dumbarton Middle School
• Western School of Technology
• Watershed Public Charter School
2nd Prizes ($1,500 each)
• Hillcrest Elementary School
• Perry Hall Middle School
• George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology
• Battle Monument School
3rd Prizes ($1,000 each)
• Carroll Manor Elementary School
• General John Stricker Middle School
• Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts
Baltimore Community Foundation Green Boost Grant Awards
1st Prizes ($2,000 each)
• Hebbville Elementary School
• Woodlawn Middle School
• Woodlawn High School
2nd Prizes ($1,500 each)
• Woodmoor Elementary School
• Owings Mills High School
3rd Prize ($1,000)
• Featherbed Lane Elementary School
Honorable Mentions ($900 each)
• Bedford Elementary School
• Church Lane Elementary School
• Deer Park Elementary School
• Edmondson Heights Elementary School
• Johnnycake Elementary School
• Milbrook Elementary School
• Wellwood Elementary School
• Woodholme Elementary School
Nearly 50 of Baltimore County’s 176 public schools, centers, and programs participated in the Clean
Green 15 initiative this school year, combining for a record 690 cleanups involving 8,019 volunteers from schools and community groups. Together, they collected 3,702 bags of litter before it could wash into waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.
In comparison, during the 2023-24 school year, 6,874 individuals
collected 3,228 bags of litter during 502 cleanups.
The countywide Clean Green program is open to any group, including school-based groups, places of worship, youth groups, civic or community groups, scout troops, sport teams, businesses, or other organizations, that wishes to help clean up its community.
Groups are asked to report their clean-ups online and designate a school to receive credit toward the grant competition.
Team BCPS Clean Green 15 is a collaborative initiative of the Baltimore County Department of
Environmental Protection and Sustainability, the Office of County Executive Katherine Klausmeier, BCPS, and The Education Foundation of BCPS.
In addition to awarding prizes to the winning schools from this year, officials also promoted participation in next year’s Team BCPS Clean Green 15 Litter, with groups eligible to log cleanups from May 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026, for consideration in the next awards cycle.
