Toyota helps Neshaminy go green
Neshaminy’s AP environmental class was given a $10,000 grant from Toyota to help the community be more environmentally friendly. The project came about after James Maloney, Neshaminy’s AP environmental teacher, partnered with Toyota to travel to several national parks.
“It was interesting to see how our national parks are being threatened not only by humans, but by invasive species,” noted Maloney in his research.
When Maloney returned from his trip, he learned that his adventure would continue in the classroom. “Our goal was centered around his passion as an educator,” said Brad Heagy, the vehicle operations manager at Toyota.
Maloney challenged each of his students to come up with an idea to help the environment. The students presented their ideas to Toyota representatives Oct. 6. The projects included building a hoop house in Neshaminy High School’s courtyard to provide vegetables to the local food pantry, establishing water stations in the high school to reduce the need for disposable water bottles, installing light fixtures throughout the community to limit light pollution and increase light efficiency, planting trees on campus to reduce carbon dioxide levels, and raising native brook trout in the classroom to increase the population of the state fish for release into local waterways.
“I couldn’t be more proud [of my students]; they make teaching enjoyable. They have done far more than I expected,” said Maloney.
