With the help of several Grades of Green students,  Grades of Green celebrated Halloween early by co-hosting a booth with the Manhattan Beach Downtown Business and Professional Association at the Manhattan Beach Pumpkin Races. While competitors waited their turn to race their custom-built pumpkins down Manhattan Beach Blvd, Grades of Green students taught them how to reduce waste through a fun activity called veggie 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 trick-or-treat bags. Attendees also got to guess the weight of a giant pumpkin for the chance to win a free basket of delicious (and eco-friendly) Manhattan Beach Farmers Market produce!




Are you interested reducing waste in your community? Join Grades of Green’s Waste Campaign to research local waste issues, develop innovative solutions, and share those solutions with your school or community. Click here to sign up today! You can also check out this brochure about the program or watch this quick video to learn more!

Since 2011, Grades of Green has worked with schools across southern California to divert 1,740 tons of waste from landfills by setting up waste sorting stations, composting, and more through the Trash Free Lunch Challenge program! This spring, Grades of Green is expanding our waste reduction program to empower 200 student teams across the globe to tackle regional waste issues.




Starting in January, Grades of Green is launching our four-month Waste Campaign for 6th-12th grade students to engage eco-heroes across the globe to take action to reduce waste and develop sustainable, student-led solutions to waste issues relevant to their region. A Waste Campaign Team (a group of students, educators and community leaders) researches local waste issues, develops a solution to a water issue, and shares that idea with the community. Thanks to our sponsors, this program is free to all students, and Grades of Green will even provide personalized virtual mentorship, student leadership training, webinars featuring waste experts, waste conservation resources, and the opportunity to connect with other participating teams across the globe. Winning Campaign Teams, announced in April, will also receive up to $1,000 in Eco-Grant prizes to fund their innovative solutions. Check out this video to learn more!

The Waste Campaign is open to 200 teams of students across the globe. Campaign teams can come from schools, after-school programs, sports teams, community teams, and more! Each team needs at least 5 student members and one adult lead to supervise.




Do you know three students that are up for the challenge? Nominate them now! To join the Waste Campaign, have an adult lead complete this Google Form by January 11th!




REGISTER FOR THE SPRING WASTE CAMPAIGN HERE!

Halloween has long been known as one of the least environmentally-friendly holidays. Between countless candy wrappers, costumes made of harmful plastics, and decorations which burn a lot of energy; it can be hard to navigate a holiday which means so much to so many. Luckily, here’s Grades of Green’s Guide to an Environmentally-Friendly Hallo-green!

 

 

  1. Conscientious Costumes

Costumes sold at Halloween super-stores are often made of materials like PVC which contain phthalate. These materials may be flame-retardant but they end up in a landfill leaking toxic chemicals into the environment. In fact, extended exposure to these chemicals could have adverse health effects.

 

Host a costume swap! Just like with candy, everyone likes a little variety in their costumes! But rather than shell out cash for a new costume every year, host a costume swap with your friends and mix it up! If you’re unable to find friends in your size, join Grades of Green’s virtual costume closet!

 

Design your own costume using supplies you already have at home! Another way to save some green while going green, create your own hallo-green masterpiece from things around the house. Grades of Green’s Litter Monster is not only a great costume, but is a great way to raise awareness for waste reduction efforts.

 

You can also turn an old bridesmaid’s dress you’ll never wear into an undead party-goer with some homemade fake blood. Take an old yoga mat and turn it into a slice of pizza or a British telephone booth.

 

  1. Spooky Sustainable Decorations

Not only are the costumes and decorations comprised of materials which are non-combustible, the plastic packaging they come in only compounds their harmful impact. Rather than spend money on decorations which will likely be thrown out in November, recycle egg cartons into bats or make skeletons our of recycled milk jugs. Old stockings with tears can be made into spider webs, add a construction paper spider and your hallo-green party will be the talk of the town. The opportunities are endless and it can make for a creative DIY project for the whole family.

 

  1. Green Your Treats

While we would love to reduce waste, handing out candy which is not individually wrapped may not go over well with concerned parents. Instead, you can hand out organic goodies with a significantly smaller environmental footprint, like these organic lollipops.

 

  1. Potluck Party

Host a pot-luck hallo-green party and ask your friends to bring their contributions in re-usable containers. Halloween parties can be a huge perpetrator of environmental efforts due to single-use plastics. Hosting a potluck party using silverware instead of single use cutlery will significantly reduce the holiday’s environmental impact.

 

  1. Trick-or-Treat

Avoid hard plastic jack-o-lanterns that will never breakdown in a landfill. Instead using tote bags, reusable shopping bags, or a pillow case to collect goodies is an easy way to be environmentally-friendly.

 

Instead of driving to your trick-or-treat destination, walking will help reduce the number of dangerous pollutants we expel into the atmosphere. Not to mention that it will help burn off the countless calories consumed later that night!

 

  1. LED the Way!

Use solar panel lights to illuminate the path toward your haunted mansion.

 

Sweep your sidewalk when clearing a path for trick-or-treaters; you’ll be saving gallons of water by not using a hose.

 

  1. Pumped for Pumpkin!

Buy organic and shop local! You’ll protect water and reduce carbon emissions by picking up your pumpkin from your local farm. Click Here to locate your local family farm.

 

Save the seeds and pulp from your pumpkin to make delicious snacks and baked goods. By reusing or composting our unwanted pumpkin parts, we can reduce dangerous greenhouse gases. Check out our favorite recipes for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin Soup.

 

Our Water Campaign Student Teams will tell you that eating a meat-less pumpkin based meal would be protecting water. By reusing the pumpkin seeds and pulp we reduce waste. For more fun ways to reuse, recycle and reduce waste, register for our Waste Campaign now!

 

 

 

 

For more DIY projects, green activities, and other ways to remain environmentally-friendly, visit www.GradesofGreen.org. Send your green solutions or pictures of your Hallo-green Holiday to @gradesofgreen or send us a message on Facebook!

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. Here’s what they found:

Human activities have caused the planet to be about 1.8°F warmer than in the early 1800s.

This number is likely increase to 2.7°F by the year 2052.




The severity of future climate-related impacts to humans depends on how much the planet warms as well as the geographical location and ability to adapt and mitigate.

These climate-related impacts include risks to health, jobs, food security, water supply, and economic growth. Some populations are at higher risk to these climate-related impacts such as disadvantaged communities, some indigenous peoples, and communities that depend on agriculture or the coast for their livelihood.



Thankfully, the effects of a 1.8°F increase in temperature is less severe than the effects of a 3.6°F in temperature.

The severity of future climate-related impacts to biodiversity and ecosystems are also expected to be lower at a 1.8 °F increase in temperature than a 3.6°F increase in temperature.





So, what can we do to help?
The IPCC recommends that to reduce climate-related impacts, we can:




Reduce our demand for energy.

Check out our Energy Audit Activity to learn how you can reduce your use of energy at school or in your community.



Reduce our consumption of materials.


How can you lower your material consumption? Check out our Trash Free Lunches and Used Goods Supplies Activities to see how you can reduce your consumption of materials at school or in your community.




Reduce our consumption of foods that create a lot of greenhouse gases.

Did you know beef production releases a total of 30kg of greenhouse gas per kg of food while fresh produce only releases 0.42 kg of greenhouse gases per kg of food? Check out how lower the amount of greenhouse gases in your foods in our Meatless Meals Activity!

Do you want your school or community to join the movement to help reduce climate change? Join Grades of Green’s Waste Campaign to research local waste issues, develop innovative solutions, and share those solutions with your school or community. Click here to sign up today or learn more!

Are you passionate about working with kids, and caring for the earth? Join the Grades of Green team as a virtual/remote 2019 College Mentor! Your responsibilities will include virtually supporting student Campaign Teams, facilitating virtual check-ins with student leaders, and more. We will be accepting applicants from across the United States. If you are eager to learn about the inner workings of a nonprofit, gain leadership skills, and help Grades of Green inspire and empower kids to care for the environment, check out our College Mentor  job description.


We are accepting applicants across the country. To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to info@gradesofgreen.org no later than November 16, 2018.

Grades of Green school Maple Village Waldorf School from Long Beach, CA was recently nominated by the CA Department of Education as a Green Ribbon School, an honor which recognizes schools nationwide for environmental and health-friendly practices.



In addition to participating in Grades of Green’s Spring 2018 Water Challenge, Maple Village Waldorf school has expanded their environmental and health-friendly practices to other areas of the environment. By focusing on reusable produces they have diverted 95% of waste and by removing all turf and expanding their play yard to create a dirt and mulch play area as well as collecting rainwater for their raised edible gardens, they reduced their water usage by 50%. They endeavor to have a totally chemical-free environment through the use of Green Cleaning Products. Children take part in preparing and cooking 100% organic food which includes access to the “picking garden”. With the belief that education will support families’ and staff’s overall health and wellness, offered programs and workshops such as conscious parenting, cooking classes, yoga and meditation, and professional development in Environmental Principles and Concepts from their partner, TreePeople, have shown great results in their community.

Click here to read the full press release on Maple Village Waldorf School.



Interested in greening your school or community? Click here to sign up for Grades of Green’s Waste Campaign from January – April, or email info@gradesofgreen.org for more information.

Grades of Green’s newly announced Co-Executive Directors Allie Bussjaeger  and Emily Gee were recently featured on the Beach Reporter. The Co-Executive Directors both started out as interns at Grades of Green over seven years ago, and have been growing in and supporting the organization ever since.
Click here to read the article!


Grades of Green names new co-executive directors.

Transportation accounts for more than 41% of emissions in California! That’s more than electricity, agriculture, residential, and commercial air pollution combined! Many Californians get from point A to point B using a vehicle without even thinking about it. Take the Clean Air Pledge on October 3 to find new ways you can improve local air quality.



Grades of Green students are also passionate about air quality. Antonio from Long Beach worked with Assemblymember David Hadley to introduce ACR 160, a resolution to encourage schools in California to implement No Idle Zones around campus. No Idle Zones encourage parents to turn off their car engine while waiting in school pick-up lines which helps improve air quality for students. Several other students have helped improved air quality by implementing No Idle Zones in their schools and communities, encouraging “walking school busses”, and spreading the word about other simple ways students can improve air quality.




Join the movement to improve local air quality today by taking the Clean Air Pledge here!

Hello, my name is Gaby and I am a Junior at Marlborough School in Los Angeles. Last year, I joined Grades of Green and this year I am participating in the Water Campaign. This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Climate Reality Leadership Conference, which is part of Al Gore’s greater movement to combat Climate Change. There were over 2,000 people in attendance, but less than 100 of them were under the ages of 18; I was so excited to be there!

One remarkable thing about the conference was seeing how much solidarity there was in fighting for the environment. It really gave me a lot of hope and inspired me to find more ways in which I can make an impact. My plans beyond the conference are to make presentations and educate on Climate Change, join my local chapter of Climate Reality leaders, participate in the Grades of Green Water Campaign, learn to use my social media to advocate for environmental change, champion electric cars and solar panels in my school and house, and hopefully plan a smaller scale Climate Change summit for high schoolers in my area.




I know that Climate Change is big and scary, but one of the most important things I learned was that we are the generation that needs to make physical changes to heal our planet.





Here are my top tips for how you can combat Climate Change:

  • 1. Get involved with an environmental club or nonprofit like Grades of Green or Climate Reality.


  • 2. Use public transportation. I use app called “Transit” that helps me find the best routes. And if you need a car, buy and electric or hydrogen option! More and more charging stations are popping up every day.
  • 3. If you are a homeowner, consider installing solar panels. Although they are an upfront cost which can kind of be intimidating, they will eventually save you money!


  • 4.Get a smart thermostat for your house if you don’t already have one.


  • 5. Eat less meat and buy food from your local farmers market.
  • 6. Go to marches and call your local representatives!
  • 7. Educate yourself on Climate Change issues. There are millions of resources at the touch of your fingertips with the help of the internet! Once you know more, share your knowledge with others.

    • Lets not have Climate Change be taboo any longer. Talk to your friends, family and neighbors about it and share things about it on social media. You have a voice, use it!



    If you have any questions, ideas or would like to talk to me further on my experiences Email info@gradesofgreen.org and the Grades of Green team can connect us.

    Looking for the next step up along your journey to solving plastic pollution? Apply for the POPS International Youth Summit to strengthen your personal storytelling, learn leadership skills and build your support network.


    The POPS International Youth Summit is a three-day intensive summit inviting 100 students and teachers around the globe to receive advanced training from experts in leadership, public speaking, story telling and more. Algalita’s POPS International Youth Summit empowers youth leaders from around the world to launch and lead action-oriented solutions to reduce plastic waste.



    You are eligible to apply if you are going to be between the ages of 11-18 in February 2019.  If you’re accepted, you’ll join over 100 students from around the world in Southern California on Feb 22 – 24, 2019 for a weekend you won’t forget! The POPS Summit is FREE, except for travel.


    Learn more and submit your application here before Nov 2, 2018.