A local earth science teacher is showing her students how to make their school more environmentally friendly.

For the second year in a row, Christine Alia got Leonia Middle School a grant from the Bergen County Utilities Authority. Last year the students set out to put recycling bins in every classroom.

This year using donated bags from Whole Foods, the students raised money to get "smart" power strips for all the classroom’s electrical outlets.

"Even when something is turned off it’s still draining energy," Alia said.

She recommends the smart strips because it doesn’t allow energy through when an appliance isn’t being used. She has them in her house now too.

"My electric bill actually went down," she said.

She runs an environmental club at the school and looks for new projects for the students to do. While Alia was doing cafeteria duty, she noticed how much Styrofoam is used for cups and trays. Her students found a company that supplies biodegradable products that won’t hurt the environment as much.

"This year we’re trying to get rid of the Styrofoam cups," she said. "Next year we’re going to try to replace the trays."

The environmental club is also planning a contest to see who can bring in their lunch with the least amount of waste. They want to encourage students to use reusable containers for food and drinks.

This summer Alia took part in teacher workshops sponsored by the Honeywell Institute. Science teachers went on field trips and shown ways to get their students actively involved in the learning process.

One of the trips involved conservation projects on the Hackensack River.

"That goes hand in hand with our earth science lessons and looking at water supply," she said.

Alia plans to have someone from the water company speak to her students to give a better understanding of conservation. She hopes to also take the students on an Eco-cruise on the Hackensack River so that they can see it first-hand.

Other trips include the Tenafly Nature Center and the Sterling Hill Mineral Mine.

"They’ll get to see the process of how to get natural resources out of the ground," she said.

Another trip is to a space science center.

"The kids will go on a mission to Mars and back," Alia said.

The environmental club is in its second year and she hopes it can continue to grow. It was also the second year that the Bergen County Utilities Authority gave grants to teachers and she hopes to make next year her third time in a row.