Bend Senior HS student presents results of ‘idle-free zones’ campaign, part of school district’s sustainability plan

(Update: Adding video, comments from Bend HS student, Bend-La Pine Schools, Bend Bikes)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Bend Senior High School junior is making waves this week after giving a presentation to the Bend-La Pine School Board about reducing emissions on school campuses by encouraging parents and other drives to respect "idle-free zones."

Will Mowry is the leader of the Green Leadership Coalition and co-president of the Bend High Environmental Club. Over the past year, Mowry has made a concerted effort to educate parents and drivers alike about idling while picking up or dropping off students, and the statistics that come with it.

"My mom works for a local non-profit, Deschutes Land Trust, and I've just been -- the values of conservation and sustainability have kind of been instilled in me since I was pretty young," Mowry said Friday

This week, he presented an idle-free campaign to the Bend-La Pine School Board. The goal is to discourage drivers from leaving cars running in drop off and pick up lines.

"Bend La Pine Schools was really helpful," Mowry explained. "We worked with their maintenance department to install 12 signs throughout our parking lot here."

In 2021, Bend-La Pine Schools adopted a sustainability plan. It included volunteers tracking idling vehicles at schools and creating times when idling is allowed, during extreme cold or heat.

Rachel Sakata, transportation safety manager for the Oregon DEQ, explained Friday, "The emissions from these cars, you have children who are definitely vulnerable populations, you've got elderly and other individuals with pre-existing health conditions that are particularly susceptible to these health impacts to air pollution."

According to the Oregon DEQ, transportation contributes 35% to the state's total greenhouse emissions, making it the single biggest producer.

Bend Bikes board member Jim Elliott claimed, "The kids who walk or bike to school, there's studies done that their brains are working better when they get to school."

Elliott became passionate about idle-free zones after being asked to establish a walking group to Bear Creek Elementary.

"If we can make the streets safer, put in more crosswalks, slow the cars, more kids can walk to school, and that would do two things," he said. "One, provide a chance for exercise and independence, and also free up the parents. Think about how much time people spend sitting in cars."

Mowry's idle-free zone signs have been up for about a year, and he's encouraged by their impact.

"I think we need to do a part to fight climate change, and my generation I think is the right people to do it, because these issues are going to be impacting us forever."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, idling for more than 10 seconds wastes more fuel than restarting your engine. Idling also releases about 30 million tons of carbon dioxide from vehicles, and most people waste 1-2 tanks of gas each year by idling.

EPA, in fact, offers an Idle-Free Schools Toolkit for a healthy school environment, which can assist in effective idling reduction campaigns at schools "to reduce student exposure to toxic vehicle exhaust."