Global Archives | Grades of Green

Grades of Green’s First Waste Campaign a Major Success

This new Campaign included 80 teams from 77 cities and 13 countries. Collectively, Grades of Green Waste Campaign teams diverted over 229,000 pounds of waste (114 tons) from the landfill and educated over 25,000 leaders and community members around the world! These numbers will continue to grow as the student teams expand on their waste reduction projects.

We are proud to announce the 2019 Spring Waste Campaign Finalist Campaign Teams, who achieved exceptional results. Please watch and share their campaign videos to get inspired by their innovative waste solutions.

Mira Costa High School (California)

Mira Costa’s team led 3 beach clean ups in their community during the month of March. They recruited volunteers by reaching out to their community through social media and local news outlets. The team educated participants about the effects of plastic and litter in our oceans and on our marine life. The result of the 3 beach clean-ups was about 250 lbs of trash; crushing their goal of 100 lbs. The team plans to continue hosting beach clean ups once per month. See their video HERE.

Human Environmental and Animal Rights Club at CAMS (California)

The HEAR Club at CAMS high school was driven by the knowledge that people, on average, throw out 70 lbs of clothes every year and that the textile industry is the second highest contributor of waste. This team hosted several used-clothing drives as well as workshops that taught others how to upcycle used garments. They exceeded their goal to collect 10 bags during the clothing drives by collecting 11 bags. Some clothes were donated and some were upcycled into new garments. See their video HERE.

Whitney High School (California)

At Whitney, the Waste Campaign Team members recognized that everyday a considerable amount of food waste was going to the landfill. By implementing a compost collection at lunchtime, the team collected about 30 lbs of food waste to put into their tumbler composter bin during the campaign. They continue to collect compostable scraps at lunchtime, educate the students and staff at their school and fundraise in order to buy a second (much needed) compost bin. See their video HERE.

Bridgeport Elementary School Green Team (California)

During the Waste Campaign, the Team working at lunch noticed the large number of good food items being thrown into the landfill bin. They were appalled, and wanted that food to go somewhere it could be eaten. The team decided they wanted to donate the food to the local Food Pantry and Homeless Shelter, and the Grades of Green mentors provided resources and guidance to help best put ideas into action. In order to raise awareness and encourage other schools in their community to start a Food Rescue program, Bridgeport shared their video and program with all the families at their school and with all the schools in their district. See their video HERE.

Daves Avenue Elementary School (California)

Daves Avenue uses approximately 12,000 crayons every school year and as the Waste Campaign students discovered, crayons do not break down well in the landfill. With a goal in mind of diverting 120 lbs of crayons from the landfill, the team joined the Crayon Initiative. The Crayon initiative recycles old crayons into new crayons and donates them to children’s hospitals. The team set up boxes to collect the crayons to send them in to get recycled. See their video HERE.

Bryant Ranch School Green Team (California)

The team of 30 students recognized their school was wasting a lot of paper. They analyzed one class per grade level to get an estimate of how much paper is used and wasted. They collected boxes that were filled up completely to sort out those that are only 1-sided to be used again. For the paper that could not be reused, they put 3 actions in place: 1. find a paper recycling agency to take the bulk paper goods 2. shred them for packaging at school and 3. turn scrap paper into art projects for classrooms, including origami, bookmarks, and paper mache. See their video HERE.

Boys and Girls Club at Towne Avenue Elementary (California)

The Boys and Girls Club at Towne Elementary estimated that 100 milk cartons are destined for the landfill from their school everyday. They learned that it takes about 5 years for a milk carton to break down in the landfill and wanted to start recycling cartons at their school. They educated all the students and staff and created a fun basketball game as a way to encourage students to recycle their cartons and have fun with it. See their video HERE.

Will Rogers Learning Community (California)

The team at Will Rogers recognized a huge issue at lunchtime: 25 bags of landfill waste everyday. With the help of a few dedicated parents, the team set up sorting stations at lunch to separate liquids, recyclables, organic waste, landfill and trays. Since implementing the stations, over the course of the Waste Campaign, they decreased lunch time landfill waste by 85 trash bags by implementing sorting stations. They also decorated recycling boxes for all classrooms to increase paper recycling on campus.

Deep Creek Middle School (Virginia)

This innovative team created a virtual “Escape Room” to inform students about tackling waste. Specifically focused on single use plastics. Along with the Escape Room, they implemented “Plastic Free Fridays” encouraging fellow students to replace single use items with reusable items. They had the opportunity to present to their school board about the excess waste created by the food provider, including wrapping oranges in plastic wrap! See their video HERE.

PSGR Krishnammal Nursery and Primary School (India)

Students at this school took food waste VERY seriously. This team made sure that all food on campus was eaten or composted. In addition, the school made presentations and a song to show the importance of not wasting food. They involved their entire community including all students, parents, administration, school board, and government representatives. The team also had goals to limit plastic, reduce all waste going to the landfill – not just food waste, and to store food properly to reduce spoiled food.

Meadows Elementary (California)

This team made a series of “how to” videos that taught their fellow students and community how to reduce waste, pack trash free lunches, and how to properly sort their waste at lunch. They also added on the Food Finders program so that any unopened cartons of food or beverages or unpeeled fruit could be donated to local families in need of food. The students have been dedicated to educated staff, administration, and parents through their “how to” videos. See their video HERE.

Bottega Delle Arti Creative (Italy)

Like to dance? Bottega Dance School has made public performances to educate others about Rome’s environmental issues and infrastructural problems. The main issue the high schoolers focused on was overflowing garbage bins throughout the city. Along with their innovative video, they have presented the problem through conferences and art exhibitions. See their video HERE.

Hughes Green Team (California)

The Hughes team found that the use of single-use condiment packets was a big waste issue on their campus. The packets end up becoming litter and often ends up in the ocean. The students prepared a proposal for the LBUSD Nutrition Services Department to switch from single-use condiment packets to sauce dispensers. They met with their district’s Nutrition Services Manager to discuss the solution even further!

Feeling inspired?! Join Grades of Green for our 2019 Fall Water Campaign here. And stay tuned for an update on the new theme for our Campaign teams!

Finding Facts Amidst Fiction

With the amount of information available in the world today, how do we know what claims made about the environment are trustworthy? While some scientific articles, ads, and headlines make claims that seem too good to be true, others make outlandish claims to draw readers in. Fake news published in articles, blogs, and ads have been distributed by organizations and individuals who have interests that benefit from dissuading people from believing in real scientific studies. In recent years, fake news has reached more people than ever before due to social media sharing and information bubbles.

To fight scientific misinformation in the classroom, Andy Zucker and Penny Noyce have developed a “Resisting Scientific Misinformation” curriculum for science teachers who educate 6th – 12th grade students. It’s a free online curriculum program aims to help young students distinguish scientific ‘misinformation’ from reality.

Learn more about it here: https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/02/lessons-on-telling-scientific-fact-from-fiction/

Here are the top 4 ways to fight scientific misinformation in the classroom and beyond:

– Ensure that your news is credible by reading through some citation sources and checking in to see if the piece is an opinion piece or from a blog written by a non-professional. Opinion pieces allow people to state their opinion rather than absolute facts.

– Be aware of claims based on personal stories, people using their status to assert that their opinion is correct, and the phrase “the science is uncertain.”

– Check out these news related tips to see how fake news works and how to be aware of sources that use “truth-stretching” methods. This will help you determine more accurate news sources for what you want to learn!

– Download the Resisting Scientific Misinformation Teacher Guide here at https://tumblehomebooks.org/services/resisting-scientific-misinformation/

As VERTE 2019 draws near, we are cooking up a storm in anticipation!

Gourmet Global Tasting Menu Representing Grades of Green Eco-Leaders

We will be noshing on a gourmet global tasting menu at VERTE courtesy of Chef Octavio Sabado. Chef Sabado is creating an exclusive meal experience similar to Epcot Center at Disney World where you can sample cuisines from around the world – all countries and areas representing a Grades of Green school. We’ll be dining on everything from Mediterranean cuisine representing Turkey to Texas BBQ!

LA Confidential named the Westdrift Hotel and Restaurant one of the top reasons why celebs are suddenly flocking to Manhattan Beach. “Westdrift channels beach-cum-urbane chic. Its lobby intentionally echoes the Manhattan Beach pier with massive wood pilings, while the indoor-outdoor eatery, Jute, overseen by SLS Bazaar’s Octavio Sabado, continues the city’s celeb-chef love affair,” wrote LA Confidential Lifestyle reporter Alexandria Abramian. Executive Chef Octavio Sabado’s Jute Coastal Bar and Restaurant was also named a Best New Restaurant by Tasting Table.

You will not want to miss all that he has prepared for VERTE 2019!

Chef Sabado

Chef Sabado honed his skills under Chef Jose Andres, the Michelin starred Spanish chef known for his international cooking style and philanthropic food efforts, at The Bazaar and the luxury SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. With some serious international cooking experience under his belt, Chef Sabado is the right chef for this task.

We look forward to celebrating with you, on April 20th at the Westdrift Hotel. Table Sponsorships are still available. You can purchase tickets to VERTE 2019 here.

Different Water Issues Requires Diverse Solutions

Water issues can come in different shapes and sizes around the world. In Grades of Green’s Water Campaign, students have the freedom to choose which issues that they want to address and tackle.

As a result, students around the world have been tackling an assortment of water issues in their own way!

Bottega Delle Arti Creative in Rome is a dance school that is addressing Rome’s serious water infrastructure issues. Rome is currently one of the largest water leaking cities in the entire world due to their aging piping infrastructure and lack of funds to address this issue. Through dance, the school is not only bringing awareness if this issue to citizens in Rome, but also to an international audience through online videos and seminars with guests hailing from around the world.

Unity Charter School in Morristown, New Jersey had a huge team of environmentalists this year. They decided to tackle all kinds of water issues based on their students’ interest. One of their students wanted to tackle the water quality issues affecting their beautiful beach. He planned to host communal cleanups along the beach to help his community not only appreciate the beauty of the nature but also respect it by encouraging event-goers to keep the beach beautiful by picking up litter.

St. Roza in Kampala, Uganda has been trying to conserve as much water as possible due to their area’s lack of water infrastructure and their inconsistent rainy and dry seasons. In addition to their newly built well, St. Roza is relying on a series of rain barrels to increase their water conservation efforts to prepare them for the upcoming dry season.

None of this would be possible without the generous help from our sponsors:

– The Boeing Company

– Sanitation District of Los Angeles County

– Long Beach Water Department

– Northrop Grumman

– LAcarGUY

– LA Kings Foundation

– Subaru Pacific

– County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl

– Carton Council

– Downtown Manhattan Beach Business & Professionals Association

– Johnson Ohana Foundation

– West Coast Event Productions

– Grand View PTA

– Optima Energy

– Continental Development

– Klean Kanteen

Resourceful and Daring!

Kanwal, a Grades of Green student in Pakistan, continues to impress! Last semester, she noticed that environmental education was lacking in her community. Moreover, the lack of trash and recycling infrastructure did her no favors. Thus, the ambitious student took matters into her own hands and organized a “Single Use Plastic” Seminar last year. With environmental experts and professors to talk about plastics, the seminar brought the hazards of plastic waste to her community.

Building Eco Momentum

After finding ways to make environmental issues relevant to her community, Kanwal has continued her passion to spread awareness to students. Being as resourceful as she is, Kanwal up-cycled thrown away cardboard and paper to make large presentations for her students. With these repurposed boards, she has reached out to over 600 students! The students have been receptive and enthusiastic to these messages of reusing goods and reducing dependency on plastic. With such a great response, Kanwal is hopeful that these kids will grow up to be amazing environmental advocates as well!

Thanks for sharing your passion in the environment with others, Kanwal!

Nebraska’s Finest

Millard Extension schools in Omaha, Nebraska, have made waves within the Grades of Green community in recent months. With a Grades of Green Team with 29 students from ages 5 to 20, this ambitious school district has participated in many environmental projects. Their projects range from litter collection to protecting Monarch butterflies. Amidst their busy schedule and many ambitions, Millard Extension schools have made friends with other Grades of Green Schools along the way.

Connections through the Water Challenge

They met with St. Roza in Uganda and Malezi Community School in Kenya during the 2017 Water Challenge. After the challenge, they have continued to combine their strengths and efforts and have helped each other create stronger solutions to environmental issues.

Sustainable Tilapia Farming

Shawn Graham, a Science teacher helping with the Millard Grades of Green Team, has focused on helping his team with implementing sustainable agriculture in the North Central Region. Shawn and his students were nominated as finalists for Nebraska’s Step Forward Awards last year for their efforts in sustainable tilapia farming. This sustainable system created a more efficient way to produce food, educated others on the importance of strong water quality, and provides economic opportunities to tackle food insecurity.

Sharing their Work Around the World

The ambitious Grades of Green Team at Millard Schools wanted to do even more. They shared their plans and ideas with their Water Challenge Friends, St. Roza and Malezi Community school. Jay, a student with the Grades of Green Team, wrote a grant to bring awareness to food issues that people in both Kenya and Nebraska had. The team used their sustainable fishing and agriculture projects to help people with food insecurity and sustainability on a global scale. Moreover, Millard’s Team worked with organizations and schools in the North Central Region to address the food needs of the 12 states in the region. Expanding the project allowed participating students to do the following: first, the students had a chance to use STEM skills to solve real world issues. Second, the participating students addressed food insecurity, sustainability, and aquaculture needs in the North Central Region. Third, the students had glimpses into real world business experience.

More Opportunities to Learn

In addition, their Grades of Green Team has collaborated with University of Nebraska-Lincoln with an education program. This program seeks to provide students an opportunity to work with scientists working on water related research- improving their STEM skills and knowledge of environmental issues. By mentoring younger generations, scientists can nurture a strong respect for knowledge and environmental stewardship for years to come. This prepares students for new challenges, economic shifts, and the ability to help others.

Want to join awesome schools in addressing environmental issues? Register with Grades of Green here to add your school!

Facing Environmental Challenges Together!

Grades of Green schools can be found all over the world. Currently, Grades of Green schools span 17 different countries. These schools have implemented Grades of Green activities all around the world while providing a variety of international viewpoints and answers to environmental problems. Many of these solutions can be applied to countries with similar climates, such as using mulch to help soil with water retention- saving water in the process, as St. Roza has shown us. By joining Grades of Green, schools become part of a Global network where they have multiple opportunities to communicate with each other. After all, solutions from 615 (and counting!) schools are better than one!

Last semester, the Global Water Challenge brought Millard Extension from Nebraska and Water Challenge Winner St. Roza from Uganda together. The two schools communicated frequently through Google Classroom. After last year’s challenge, these two schools have kept in contact and are continuing to help each other with their environmental goals!

Buddy Schools!

This year, we have over 40 schools in 10 different countries participating in the 2018 Spring Water Challenge! We’re pairing each school with a buddy school so that people can share their experiences, insights, and inspirations. Through increased communication, schools will be able to learn about other ways to tackle environmental solutions! Moreover, students get to learn about different cultures across the map in their shared goal towards a more environmental conscious world.

If you haven’t registered yet, feel free to register your school with Grades of Green here! You’ll receive FREE downloadable resources and one-on-one staff advisor support year-round.