Anupama Mahajan Has Her Students Lead the Way

Anupama Mahajan’s enthusiasm for her job and students is contagious. She has a masters degree in both physics and education, and is currently teaching international baccalaureate (B) environmental science and biogeochemical science at Central High School. She loves the sciences because they are hands-on. She takes her students for frequent outdoor excursions. The best way to learn about the environment, after all, is immersing yourself. Anupama also heads up Central High School’s Green Team to great success. In 2018, Central High School was awarded the State of Maryland Green School Certification. 

In 2019, Anupama received the Unsung Hero Award for her commitment to environmental literacy.

Anupama takes Central High’s mantra of “students lead the way” to heart. When it comes to her green program, she’s along for the ride. The students plan and execute the programs. When she discusses the work her students have done, she’s full of pride. Her Green Team is conscious of the world around them and determined to make a difference. What starts in the classroom spirals through the community. She fondly recalls one student lobbying the manager at his after-school job to properly recycle. His success at the popular fast food chain likely kept thousands of pounds of recyclable material out of the landfill. 

The State of Maryland Green School Certification, photo courtesy of Anupama Mahajan

One of Central High’s student gardens, photo courtesy of Anupama Mahajan

This story is one of many success stories of Anupama’s program. Her philosophy revolves around instilling confidence in her students. In her words, “I don’t give advice. I advise them to find solutions.” And they do. On the precipice of adulthood, many teens are full of ideas about how to change the world, but wary to speak up. They just need someone to give them a push. Anupama gives them the freedom to explore their own solutions outside a rigid curriculum. (That’s not to say she doesn’t suggest programs. She frequently experiments with things at home, like plant cuttings and compost, and then shares her results with her students.) “Student’s are full of amazing solutions,” says Anupama. “I just listen.” 

A squash growing in Central High’s compost system, photo courtesy of Anupama Mahajan

photo courtesy of Anupama Mahajan

Anupama’s students have enacted many programs at the school with her support, and the support of local organizations like the Alice Ferguson Foundation: 

• Gardens: Anupama’s students took to gardening like fish to water. They planted large beds of flowers and vegetables for harvest, and to attract and foster important pollinators like bees and butterflies. Anupama’s students even voluntarily kept the garden running, even during the summer and COVID-19.

• Composting: The Department of the Environment selected Central High’s application to be a composting pilot program, and Central High began composting their food scraps.

• Community cleanups: Working with the Alice Ferguson Foundation, students organized a cleanup of school grounds and the surrounding community and natural area. They picked up a combined 13 bags of recyclable material, 6 bags of trash, and 4 tires.

• Legislative action: When Anupama brought in photos from areas in the County with severe litter problems, her students organized a letter-writing campaign to the local legislature. Another student, bothered by a lack of recycling bins around the playground, approached a local councilwoman and made a change.

• Trash audit: Working with the Alice Ferguson Foundation, students examined Central High’s trash and made a plan to reduce the amount of trash produced by the school.

• Cafeteria recycling: Anupama’s Green Team distributed recycling bins to classrooms and the cafeteria. 

• Teaching: While COVID-19 interrupted her plans, Anupama says that once they are able, her students will visit the local elementary schools to teach them about trash reduction, recycling, and organizing community clean-ups.

At the core of Anupama’s philosophy is taking ownership. By providing her students with the knowledge and resources they need, she can watch them go out and make a real difference in the world. They take ownership of their land, local issues, and the education of those around them. 

Interested in enacting programs like these at your school? Let us know what we can do to help!

Waste Prevention Tips for Around Your Home

Waste prevention is the practice of eliminating waste before it is created–essentially, needing less material to get the job done. The benefits of waste prevention include reduced energy consumption and pollution, conservation of natural resources, extension of valuable landfill space, and substantial savings through reduced purchasing costs and disposal costs.

• Purchase items in bulk or economy size.

• Purchase items in reusable containers.

• Purchase only those items that you need.

• Purchase high-quality, long-lasting products.

• Repair older items rather than purchasing new ones.

• Use reusable shopping bags.

• Use cloth towels, napkins and rags instead of disposable paper products.

• Avoid using disposable cups, plates and cutlery.

• Use rechargeable batteries whenever possible.

• Return unwanted clothes hangers to the dry cleaners for reuse.

• Donate unwanted or needed items (food, clothing, equipment, furniture, appliances) to charitable organizations.

• Rent infrequently used tools or equipment.

Waste Prevention Tips for the Office

Go (nearly) paperless. While recycling is helpful, the biggest impact comes from using less paper. With programs like Google Docs that allow you to write, edit, and collaborate for free online and Dropbox, a free service that makes it easy to sync and share files, it’s easier than ever to eliminate the amount of paper you use in the workplace. Consider adding a “think before you print” message to the bottom of your emails as a friendly reminder to coworkers.

Keep a paper recycling bin within arm’s reach. People recycle when it’s convenient. Make it easy for employees to recycle by meeting them where they already are (at their desk) with a bin.

Print smarter. Sometimes printing is necessary. Save up to 50 percent on paper costs by having employees set their defaults to print double-sided, and ask employees to use the “Print Selection” function, which encourages them to only print what they need and reduces wasted sheets of paper.

Provide real dishes and silverware. K-Cups may seem economical because you can make one cup of coffee at a time, but they are much more expensive than coffee beans. Those millions of little plastic cups can’t be recycled and go straight to the landfill. Invest in a machine that grinds the beans to make one cup at a time, and buy coffee beans in bulk to save money.

Reuse binders and file folders. Provide label stickers so employees can write over and reuse binders and file folders instead of throwing them away after one use.

Provide filtered water. Install a filtered water tap so employees can pour a glass of water instead of grabbing a disposable plastic water bottle. Your company will save money on bottled water, and landfills will be spared of more plastic.

Invest in equipment that is high-quality, durable and repairable.

Make Your Own Green Cleaning Products

Many household cleaners contain materials that may be harmful to the environment. For instance, phosphates, found in many cleaners, detergents and soaps, when washed into waterways can cause water blooms of algae and bacteria that can kill fish and aquatic plants. Other chemicals found in common household cleaners may include neurotoxins, carcinogens, allergens and heavy metals.

Most stores and online retailers sell natural cleaning products that offer environmentally safe, cost-efficient alternatives to the toxic and potentially lethal household cleaning products used in many homes today. When shopping, look at the labels and make the switch to natural products. You can also detoxify your home by making your own environmentally safe and effective products.

Homemade Alternatives to Toxic Household Products:

All Purpose Cleaners:

• 1 cup of baking soda in 1 gallon of hot water

• ¼ cup of borax and 1 tablespoon liquid soap in 1 gallon of hot water

Deodorizers:

• Baking soda or cornstarch

• Zeolite is a non-toxic mineral that absorbs odors, bacteria and mold

Disinfectants:

• Citrus-based products

• Mix ¼ cup borax with ¼ cup white vinegar in hot water

Drain Cleaners:

• Use ¼ cup baking soda, followed by ½ cup vinegar, cover until fizzing stops, and then flush with boiling water

• Use a plunger or drain snake on major clogs

Metal Polishes:

• Brass: Olive oil retards tarnishing

• Chrome: Polish with baby oil

• Copper: Use a paste made of lemon juice and cream of tartar, leave on for 5 minutes, wash in warm water

Laundry Products:

• Use borax instead of bleach

• To remove blood stains, soak in cold water, club soda or hydrogen peroxide

Oven Cleaners:

• Apply a baking soda paste, let stand for 1 hour to overnight

• Self-cleaning ovens work well and use no cleaners

Scouring Powder:

• Baking soda paste

• Pumice stick on porcelain surfaces

Toilet Bowl Cleaners:

• For rings, mix borax and lemon juice into a paste, cover ring with paste, let sit for 2 hours

• Pumice stone will remove stains

Tub And Tile Cleaners:

• Use ½ cup of borax in hot water

• Sprinkle with baking soda

Protect Your Home Against Flooding

Retrofitting existing buildings or regrading a yard can help reduce the potential for flood damage to structures and their contents. This can include:

• Elevating buildings above flood levels.

• Wet or dry flood proofing (commercial structures only).

• Installing backflow preventers to protect floors and contents from sewer backups.

A building permit may be required for retrofitting and structural projects. 

Temporary Measures

There are temporary measures that can help to protect your property during a flood event, such as:

• Planning ahead about where and how you will move furniture out of harm’s way.

• Keeping materials like sandbags, plywood, plastic sheeting and lumber handy for emergency waterproofing.

• Clearing brush and debris away from storm drains and ditches so water can drain away from the structure. 

Substantial Improvements

Homeowners who are planning substantial improvements to their structure should contact the Prince George’s County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) for a residential building permit. Elevating or flood proofing may be required if you plan to substantially improve your existing structure (the cost of the improvement or add-on is up to 50% of the value of the existing structure).

If your property is substantially damaged by a flood (50% of the value of the building), Federal regulations may require you to elevate or flood proof before you can rebuild. The document titled “Answers to Questions about Substantially Damaged Buildings” (FEMA-213, May 1991) will help answer questions on this topic and can be obtained free online or by calling 800-480-2520.

For additional questions about substantial improvements, or for information on permitting, please contact Paul DeSousa at 301-883-5871.

Additional Resources

“Residential Drainage: A Homeowner’s Guide to Drainage Problems and Solutions” available from Prince George’s County. This free guide can be obtained by calling Moses Fadiran at 301-883-5768.

“Homeowner’s Guide to Retrofitting: Six Ways to Protect Your House from Flooding” (FEMA Publication #312), includes information on protecting a structure from flooding and information about available financial assistance. You can get this free guide by calling 800-480-2520 or online.

For additional questions about these types of projects, or for information on permitting, contact the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment at 301-883-5776.

Being a Responsible Consumer With Hazardous Waste

When you reuse, recycle, or reclaim hazardous water, you can avoid environmental hazards, protect scarce natural resources, reduce our reliance on raw materials and energy and provide economic benefits. Hazardous waste, when improperly disposed of, can have disastrous effects on our land and water.

The hazardous waste you may have around the home is any unwanted household product labeled as flammable, toxic, corrosive, or reactive. Most commonly, these are aerosols, anti-freeze, asbestos, fertilizers, motor oil, paint supplies, photo chemicals, poisons, and solvents.

Be a responsible consumer by reducing hazardous waste.

Buy Responsibly

• Compare and read product labels.

• Buy only what you need.

• Purchase or make your own environmentally friendly non-toxic cleaning products.

• Use latex paint instead of oil-based paint.

Store Responsibly

• Keep hazardous waste out of the reach of children and animals, and away from food, water and heat sources.

• Store materials in their original containers with labels intact.

• Separate flammable, corrosive and poisonous products.

Dispose Properly

• Always try to purchase only the amount needed.

• Never place hazardous waste in recycling receptacles or trash cans.

• Don’t flush hazardous waste down toilets, household drains or in storm drains.

• Deliver excess household hazardous waste in their original container with label intact to the Prince George’s County Household Hazardous Waste Acceptance Site. (If  the product label is not legible, use a permanent marker to write the chemical name on the container).

5 Ways To Protect Our Water

Prince George’s County is located on the Anacostia River Watershed, a rich natural area that is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Watersheds are natural filtration systems, supply our drinking water and water for agriculture and manufacturing, offer opportunities for recreation, and provide habitat to plants and animals. Because of this, every action we take to help (or harm) the Anacostia River Watershed affects the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the 18 million people who live, work, and play there.

Here are ways you can help keep this crucial ecosystem clean:

1

Become Stormwater-Wise

What happens when rain hits your yard? Where does it collect and where does it run off? Does the water pool anywhere? Do you have any eroding slopes? To learn more about assessing your yard for stormwater problems, attend a Stormwater Audit.

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2

Make Your Lawn a Sponge

There are 3.8 million acres of turf in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, so minimizing the use of pesticides and fertilizers and reducing stormwater runoff from lawns is vitally important for local and regional water quality. Learn how to save money and improve your lawn at a Lawn Care Clinic.

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3

Install Landscape Practices That Capture Stormwater

Rain barrels, trees and rain gardens can slow stormwater down, spread it out and soak it into the ground. The Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate Program makes using these and other practices more affordable than ever.

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4

Make Your Landscape a “BayScape”

Lush native plantings can soak up to 14 times more stormwater than a typical lawn. Instead of using lots of fertilizer, pesticides and water to make exotic plants grow, choose native plants that will thrive in the conditions you already have. Find more information on BayScaping.

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5

Pick Up After Your Pet

It’s more than being neighborly: Pet waste contains bacteria and other pathogens. In fact, just 1 gram of pet waste contains an average of 23 million fecal coliform bacteria. Large amounts of fecal bacteria in a stream indicate an increased risk of pathogen-induced illness New York State DEC (PDF). Gastrointestinal, respiratory, eye, ear, nose, throat, and skin infections can result from contaminated water. This is one reason it’s not safe to enter waterways right after it rains.