Rockfall Awards Scholarship to Student for Eliminating Styrofoam

The Rockfall Foundation has selected Emma Iovene of The Morgan School in Clinton as recipient of the 2020 Virginia R. Rollefson Environmental Leadership Scholarship. Iovene’s leadership was demonstrated by her successful efforts to eliminate single-use Styrofoam cafeteria trays at her school. Not only did she succeed in eliminating Styrofoam, but that change also helped the school achieve ‘Green Leaf School’ status and additionally created job opportunities for special needs students. The school purchased reusable polycarbonate trays which are washed by paid special needs students. On days when the students cannot work, more environmentally friendly disposable trays are used. The project required creative problem-solving and perseverance through many layers of the school system. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded each year to recognize leadership and initiative by a high school junior or senior residing in Middlesex County, Lyme, or Old Lyme for a program, project, or activity that benefits preservation, conservation, restoration or environmental education.  Last year’s recipient was Erin Lindsay, also of The Morgan School, for her research that linked pollutants from fertilizer and waste water to the decline of seagrass in Long Island Sound.