Saint Anthony school in Long Beach, California kicked off their Grades of Green program with a huge splash thanks to the Kings Care Foundation and Blue Shield of California! The school is competing in the 2017-2018 Trash Free Lunch Challenge, and began by inviting Grades of Green to host a kick-off assembly to educate students about the program. Students were taught how to reduce, reuse, recycle, pack trash free lunches, and to use their new lunchtime sorting station. After the assembly, students who sorted their waste correctly earned a t-shirt. After lunch, students participated in a workshop to learn about the Kings Care Foundation G.O.A.L.S. program.  Students were split into four groups, and rotated to four interactive stations. They were able to play hockey with Kings player Kyle Clifford, practice recycling habits with a sorting game, spin the Grades of Green Jeopardy wheel to earn a reusable water bottle, and explore the brand new G.O.A.L.S. website features. Grades of Green is proud to partner with the Kings Care  Foundation on the Green Solutions platform, and was thrilled to bring the program to Saint Anthony!

To check out photos from the event, click here. To check out the press, click here, and click here! To read the Kings story about this awesome day, click here.

Bryant Ranch Elementary School joined Grades of Green in 2016, and is kicking off their program by focusing on waste reduction. Concerned with the amount of food wasted each day at lunchtime, the Grades of Green Team set to work on rolling out Grades of Green’s Trash Free Lunches Activity and Campus Composting Activity. After preparing sorting station containers consisting of compost, bottles and cans collection, recycle, landfill, and tray stacking, Grades of Green hosted an assembly to educate the students on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Students were taught how to pack a trash free lunch, how to conserve natural resources, and how to use their new sorting station. After the assembly, students used the sorting stations for the first time. At the end of lunch, only 4 bags of trash were filled compared to the usual 7, and all fruit and veggie scraps were taken to the garden to be composted. Way to go Bryant Ranch! Interested in introducing Grades of Green’s waste reduction activities in your school community? Email us today at info@gradesofgreen.org to get started!