Cape St. Claire Elementary and Severn River Middle schools earned an official Maryland Green School certification this year for their conservation efforts.

The schools were among 11 to earn the designation this year from the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE). There are now 52 education facilities in the county with the designation.

Four other schools, including Broadneck High School, also earned recertification, according to a press release from Anne Arundel County Public Schools. 

To earn Green School status, a school must go through a two-year process of establishing a program for environmental awareness. Efforts often include recycling, conservation programs and other activities designed to encourage "green" thinking.

Cape St. Claire Elementary's third-graders sold rain barrels they painted as a part of their green initiative last year. They also participated in field trips to Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center to learn about the region's ecology.

This is the third year in a row that 11 county schools earned Green School certification.

This year's schools are:

• Cape St. Claire Elementary
• Crofton Woods Elementary
• Fort Smallwood Elementary
• Maryland City Elementary
• Richard Henry Lee Elementary
• Meade Middle
• Severn River Middle
• Chesapeake High
• Southern High
• Marley Glen School
• J. Albert Adams Academy

Broadneck High School and Mayo Elementary School earned recertification, while West Annapolis Elementary School earned a second recertification. Shipley's Choice Elementary School earned certification as a "model" green school after being recertified a third time.