King County wants to honor the students, teachers, staff, school volunteers, programs or entire schools that have contributed to both environmental protection and student environmental education.

“Environmental education and environmental action go hand-in-hand, and the contribution that schools make to the protection of our local environment is significant and essential,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.

Nominations for the 2010 Earth Heroes at School are due March 1. Winners will be honored at King County’s ninth-annual Earth Heroes at Schools recognition event in April.

Recycling, restoring habitat, composting lunchroom waste, and growing pesticide-free gardens are among the many types of projects conducted by students, teachers and others in schools across the county.

“We want to recognize these leaders and their accomplishments,” Constantine said.

Earth Heroes can be nominated by colleagues, classmates or the general public. Self-nominations are also encouraged. Nomination forms and the list of 2009 winners can be found at http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/education/earth-heroes.asp, or by calling Donna Miscolta at (206) 296-4477.