You wouldn’t know it by talking with him, but John Olson, a custodian at Shadow Lake Elementary, was recently named one of King County’s 2015 Earth Heroes at School.

Instead of talking about his own ways of helping the school and students stay sustainable, he boasts about his colleagues and the collective effort made by all of them to teach the kids about recycling and composting.

Principal Chris Everett echoed those observations and said Olson is a big part of the community at Shadow Lake that helps keep it green.

“He’s kind of a quiet soul,” she said. “He’s humble and very much just a team player.”

Everett said she sees Olson help kids sort their own recycling, compost and trash during breakfast and lunch.

Olson also works with other staff to teach kids why composting and recycling is important.

Olson said teaching sustainability is important. Nothing matters if we don’t have our earth, he said.

He explained the knowledge of math, reading, and science kids receive in school won’t matter if there isn’t a place for them to use it.

That message resonates throughout the school.

Outside of the cafeteria, a wall of student art is on display. The art depicts ways for students to get involved in different aspects of sustainability at their school.

It serves as a reminder to students to take pride in their environment and to keep the school green.

As a custodian, Olson also keeps the school green by only using cleaning products that are Green Certified, he said.

Stricter controls on power use also enable to school to reduce wasted electricity and to operate more cost-efficiently.

But Olson’s true passion lies with the three bins in the lunchroom; the ones labeled for compost, recycling, and trash.

His Earth Hero at School award was in the category of food waste, in which six other school staff members across King County were also honored. Earth Heroes are described as people and groups who “inspire and educate others by showing how simple, everyday conservation actions can contribute to a healthier planet.”  They were presented with their awards at a ceremony May 5 in Renton. Olson was the only custodian who was honored. The rest included students, clubs, a parent, teachers, entire schools and a school district.

Olson’s story has come full circle. He attended Shadow Lake Elementary in the 1960s.

He then graduated from Tahoma High School in the ‘70s, and started working in the school system for over half a decade with both Tahoma and the Renton School District. After that, he switched gears and worked in the private sector for 20 years.

After semi-retiring, he went back to work for Tahoma in the early 2000s and has been at Shadow Lake for two years.

“I started at Shadow Lake and now I guess I’m going to finish here,” Olson said.