Grades of Green is proud to congratulate the exceptional students who participated in the 2016-2017 Youth Corps Eco-Leadership program! Over the weekend the students and their families gathered for a celebration event to conclude the year. The celebration took place at TreePeople’s beautiful space, and delivered a fun filled afternoon including a yummy lunch provided by Fresh Brothers and Grow, a photo booth, games, and presentations from each Youth Corps Eco-Leader about the Grades of Green Activity they implemented in their school community over the past year. In the past nine months, Youth Corps leaders have accomplished some amazing environmental feats including installing drought tolerant gardens at their schools, rolling out No Idle Zone programs, teaching Eco-Lessons in their classrooms, launching Grades of Green Teams, and more.

Each student was presented with a certificate of recognition from Grades of Green, as well as a certificate from their respective Los Angeles County District office. In addition, the Grades of Green Youth Corps Eco-Leadership program was honored to be presented with a certificate of congressional recognition from Ted Lieu’s office of California’s 33rd district. To check out photos from the celebration, click here!

This year’s Youth Corps Eco-Leaders are leading the way in environmental stewardship, and we could not be more proud! Thank you to the incredible sponsors who help us make this program possible: Arconic Foundation, City of Santa Monica, Murad Family Foundation, Earth Friendly Products, County of Los Angeles 3rd district, Metropolitan Water District, Beach Cities Health District, the Vanderbilt Family Foundation, and Southern California Edison.

Are you a 4th-12th grade student located in the greater Los Angeles area who is interested in applying for the 2016-2017 Youth Corps Eco-Leadership program? Applications are open now! Click here to apply!

Thanks to the help of National Charity League volunteers, Grades of Green was able to attend the Beach Cities Health District’s Taste of Blue Zone event last Sunday! Attendees sampled various mouth-watering yet healthy food samples offered by local Blue Zone restaurants. Grades of Green followed the healthy foods theme by offering guests vegetables, but these vegetables were not for eating – they were for stamping! Grades of Green’s veggie stamping activity involves dipping scraps from veggies like onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes in an ink pad, and then stamping the beautiful and intricate designs onto recycled paper cards. Interested in other ways that your school can utilize fruit and veggie food scraps? Click here to check out Grades of Green’s Waste Activities including our Campus Composting Activity and our Worm Bins Activity. Want help implementing activity? Click here to register with Grades of Green, unlock our 40+ activities, and get one-one-one support from an advisor!