Massachusetts Environmental Education Program for Schools
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The Green Team is an environmental education program sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and administered by the Center for EcoTechnology. The program provides resources on recycling, idling reduction, and other environmental topics on its website. Schools can receive free recycling equipment, signs, and materials for participating in the program and educating students on these topics.
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Massachusetts Environmental Education Program for Schools
- 1. + THE GREEN TEAM An Environmental Education Program for Massachusetts Schools www.thegreenteam.org
- 2. + THE GREEN TEAM Sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Administered by the Center for EcoTechnology (CET)
- 3. + Program Highlights Resources on www.TheGreenTeam.org website Educational materials and activities Free recycling equipment Free idling reduction signs and materials Recognition and prizes
- 4. + The Green Team Website www.TheGreenTeam.org
- 5. + Educational Resources Sharon High School Pathways Program, Sharon, Megan Sullivan
- 6. + Free Recycling Equipment Conway Grammar School, Conway, Maggie West
- 7. + Recognition & Prizes Edward Parthum Middle School, Lawrence, Julia Perlowski
- 8. + Arlington Public Schools Peirce School, Arlington, Lori Pescatore
- 9. + Instructional Video on Cafeteria Source Separation Featuring: Four Corners Elementary School, Greenfield and Northfield Elementary School, Northf
- 10. + Register Today! Online: www.thegreenteam.org Visit the CET booth in the exhibit hall Register and fill out the Teacher Response Form by March 31st to receive recognition and prizes for this this school year.
Editor's Notes
- The Green Team is an educational program funded by the MassDEP and administered by the Center for EcoTechnology that empowers students and teachers to help the environment through waste reduction, recycling, composting, energy conservation, and pollution prevention. Last year, almost 60,000 students from 300 Massachusetts schools participated in the program.
- The program has several key elements – I’ll provide a brief overview of the program as a whole and focus on Green Team resources related to recycling, composting, and other waste diversion activities. The Green Team offers and assortment of free resources for schools. Lots of resources and information available on the Green Team website. The Green Team sends every teacher who registers for the Green Team a kit full of lesson plans and activities. Schools participating in the Green Team can request free recycling and composting equipment. (more on this later) They can also request free signs and materials for starting an idle reduction program at their school. All participating schools are eligible for recognition and prizes from the Green Team.
- The Green Team website is packed with useful resources and information. Some highlights include: Green Team guides on starting a recycling or food waste diversion program at your school a video about composting at school and links to tons of waste-diversion related resources. Soon to come source separation instructional video!
- The Green Team provides teachers with educational resources such as activities and lesson plans. These resources are available through kits mailed to every registered teacher, on the Green Team website, and in monthly email newsletters. These include clean air lesson plan, an activity empowers students to improve air quality around their schools by promoting an idle free zone. The Slash Trash Activity, fun and popular activity where students track how much they are throwing away and identify ways to divert that waste. As part of their effort to improve recycling at their school, students at Sharon Middle School created a display of all the items thrown in the trash one week that should have been in the recycling. The display was eye-catching and made an impact on students who paid more attention to how they disposed of their trash and recycling in the weeks that followed.
- The Green Team provides schools with access to free equipment such as recycling carts and bins, compost bins, and vouchers for composting worms. This free equipment is a big motivator for participation in the Green Team. Last year, 80 schools received this equipment. This photo is from Conway Grammar School which received a worm voucher from the Green Team to start vermicomposting at their school. When schools request bins, they often remark on how though their school has recycling, they need more bins in order to divert recyclables from every classroom, office, and auxiliary space. Last year, we distributed 43 compost bins and 16 worm vouchers to receive worms for composting as pictured in the images.
- Green Team participants are recognized for their efforts on the Green Team website, in local media, and with year-end prizes. Last year, Edward Parthum Middle School in Lawrence was one of the grand prize winners. The school reported a wide diversity of Green Team activities last year. In the beginning of the school year, students take the initiative to create informational posters to recruit other students for Green Team projects and events. As a result, students from the middle school made a garbage mosaic that says "The ball's in YOUR court. Recycle.“. Students from elementary school paint trash cans, as pictured, to look like “trash monsters”. Their school received a gift certificate to get paint supplies rewarding them for all their efforts. Sixty-two Green Teams received awards last year.
- Comprehensive kitchen and cafeteria program, as seen in the image: Food waste diversion has been implemented in five out of seven elementary schools, with the remaining two scheduled to join by the end of the 2017-2018 school year. All the schools have new signage in their lunchrooms as well as new stickers on all recycling toters. A sign with best management practices for classroom recycling and relevant contact information is posted in teachers' rooms at all the schools. Tours to recycling facilities: Arlington schools have been proactive in developing their student’s understanding of waste diversion by organizing tours to various recycling facilities. ActiGators, a creative and enthusiastic environmental team at the Arlington Middle School, took a trip to E.L. Harvey’s recycling facility. Students from Dallin Elementary School had an opportunity to tour GreenWorks’ recycling center in Peabody, and interviewed Greenworks employees for the town’s PWD television network. Textile recycling, as seen in the image: In addition, all nine public schools in Arlington participated in a Textile Recovery Challenge, organized by the Green Team program, collecting tons of textiles for donation and recycling. I’d like to mention briefly another MassDEP program that has helped make this district-wide effort possible – a Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) grant. These grants, which are a nice compliment to the resources available through the Green Team, can help tackle waste diversion on a district-wide scale.
- Soon to come! Thank you to Amy Donovan from Franklin Solid Waste Management District
- Any K-12 school in Massachusetts, whether public or private, is welcome to participate in the Green Team. The program is organized around having teachers register their classes – however, any adult affiliated with a school (whether it be a teacher, administrator, club leader, or PTA volunteer) is welcome to register. We frequently get registrations from after school programs, gardening clubs, and even entire schools. You can register for free any time for the current school year. One really easy option is to register today – is to stop by the CET booth, where we have ipads set up and can walk you through registration. If you register and fill out a Teacher Response Form by March 31, you can receive recognition and prizes for the current school year.