Happy New Year Everyone!

In the Chinese Zodiac, 2019 is the year of the pig! Those with a pig zodiac sign should be more open to new hobbies and ventures in order to make use of their ingenuity to make a good impression according to this year’s 2019 horoscope.

Astrology aside, did you know that pigs have more taste buds than we do? Despite their evolved sense of taste, pigs are not picky eaters. In addition, they are known for their incredible food waste reduction talents! Before large scale pork production, pigs were one of the largest consumers of food waste. Today, around 45% of greenhouse emissions emitted from livestock production comes from the production, processing, and transportation of animal feed. Some farmers around the world are returning to using food waste as feed for pigs in order to cut costs and to have much healthier pigs. According to famous Chef Dan Bowien, pigs with food waste diets, taste much better than normal pigs.

Students in our Waste Campaign fight food waste too!

Like the resourceful pig zodiac, students this year are using their ingenuity to make a good impression on waste related issues this semester. Follow our students’ work by following us on Instagram!

New Year, New Habits

Want to make 2019 the most eco-friendly one yet? Follow these tips and try any of these activities for this year! Get your friends to join you in one of these activities so you can all go green together!

Green Year’s Resolutions

– Bring your own bags and containers to stores and restaurants for shopping and leftovers. Also, don’t forget your bags and containers at home!

– Take the time to recycle at home and at work.

– Don’t litter. By buying less and using less, you can drastically reduced your impact and litter from using packaging material.

– Time your showers. Try to set a record, but don’t forget to clean behind your ears.

– Try to drive even less year this year! Plan some social events with a carpool, with a bike, or with public transportation. This is a great way for kids to learn about using public transportation, it’s a great way for you to stay healthy, and it’s a good way to get together with friends and try new things.

– Plant something! Not only are plants therapeutic, but you can eat things like your own green onions and root vegetables.

– Don’t flush things that aren’t toilet paper or waste down the toilet. Clogging from these kind of materials can create infrastructural damage that reduces a city’s ability to dump water safely back into the environment.

– Try going vegetarian for a day or for a week. Many people around the world eat vegetarian dishes to celebrate an event! Try learning vegetarian recipes from people around the world!

The entire Grades of Green staff wishes you a happy new year! Let’s make this the greenest year yet!

Please help us welcome Susan Warshaw as the new Executive Director of Grades of Green! We are excited and honored to have Susan lead Grades of Green as we continue to change the course of the future by making environmental protection second-nature in young minds.

“I’m eager to lead the Grades of Green team as we inspire and empower more students around the nation and the world to care for the environment. From our start at one school just a short while ago, we are quickly expanding to meet the need for K-12 environmental education that brings students, parents and the larger school community together for sustainable results,” explains Warshaw.

Get to know Susan here and say come say hi at outreach events around Southern California.

Click here to view the release and share with others!

Interested in joining the Grades of Green staff, intern and volunteer team? Email info@gradesofgreen.org for more information.

Media Coverage:

My Social Good News

The Beach Reporter

The Easy Reader