The Green Team is a group of volunteer students and parents who educate about reducing waste, recycling, and reusing. Their goals are to reduce waste in the lunchroom and classrooms through reuse and recycling, and engage students in reducing water and electricity usage. They plan to create a Green Team by accepting applications from students, recruiting parent volunteers, and organizing the lunchroom with different bins. They will educate students through various presentations and signage. The Green Team's efforts include fundraising, educating themselves by visiting other schools, and donating unconsumed food.

1. Mrs. Hansen, Principal
Laura Valvassori and Shannon Kong, Presenters
WELCOME!

2. What is the Green Team?
A group of volunteer students and
parents who strive to educate the
student body about reducing waste,
recycling, and reusing.

3. Green Team Goals
To reduce waste/trash in the lunchroom
as well as classrooms focusing on reuse
and recycling.
Educating and engaging the student
body in a variety of Green areas
including reducing water and
electricity usage.

4. Creating a Green Team
1. Announce applications for students to
join Green Team
 Accept up to 20 4th and 5th graders

5. VG GREEN TEAM APPLICATION
Wanted: GREEN TEAM Members for 2011-12 School Year
Do you want to help teach VG kids about recycling?
Are you interested in protecting the environment?
Do you want to make a difference in how VG helps the world?
WE WANT YOU!
Explain why you think you would make a good GREEN team member.
Let us know what you want to do if you are part of VG’s GREEN Team.
We’ll pick 4 students from next year’s 4th and 5th grades to be our lead VG GREEN team
members. Your job will be to help make changes around VG – like monitoring recycling in the
lunch room and deciding new environmental projects VG will take on.
Name: Grade next year:
(If this is not enough room, write on the back.)
Turn into the office by May 20th.
Good Luck and thanks for applying!

6. Note In Wednesdays envelopes:
VG Green PRIDE
Wanted:
GREEN TEAM Members for 2011-12 School Year
Calling all 3rd and 4th graders who are interested,
Have your mom or dad download the Green
Team application from the VG website.
Applications due May 27th, 2011.
Good luck!

7. 3. Recruit Green parents who are excited
about reducing waste, going green.
This can be a challenge.
You will need parents to volunteer in
the lunchroom for about 3 weeks until
everyone is trained and the students
are comfortable monitoring the bins
independently.
Send out letter to all parents
announcing Green Team.

8. Dear VG Parents,
We’re proud to present the members of Vista Grande’s first Green Team.
Our 4th graders and 5th graders include (list of kids names)
For this first year, our Green Team will educate, engage and empower our children to live more sustainably at school, home and
in our community. Our Green Team will spearhead two key efforts on our campus: 1) reduce waste in the lunchroom and 2)
reduce waste in our classrooms.
Here are some of the ways you’ll see our Green Team at work:
 Our Green Team will serve as campus leaders helping fellow students recycle more in our lunchroom and encourage re-
usable products like sandwich bags and water bottles – keep an eye out for their green vests.
 In the classroom, our Green Team members will provide ideas for reducing and reusing paper and materials. They will guide
VG’s environmental efforts helping to teach all VG students that “every choice counts”.
 Monitoring recycling in the recycle cans around school.
 At Carnival, we will have a booth to display many ideas for packing a more environmentally friendly lunch including re-usable
bags and bottles. We will be selling VG logo’d metal water bottles as well as a plastic option.
 On VGTV, stay tuned for our Green tip of the week.
 During PRIDE bake sales, the Green Team will encourage students who bake the treats to transport their goodies to school in
creative ways other than individual plastic baggies. Some ideas would be in a shoe box or wrapped in parchment paper. Then
students purchasing the goodies will be given a wax baggie to place their treats in as they buy.
 Field trips to other schools that have a Green Team in full force such as Lafayette’s Burton Valley; possibly a field trip to the
recycle center in Martinez.
 Other green efforts include Girl Scout Troop 30830 assuming our Green Fundraiser from last year, which entails bring
electronic waste into the office for recycling. In turn, our school is receives cash for the electronic items sent in for recycling.
We want to extend our thanks to Laura Neary, Adam Liebow and Caitlin Mino who will serve as our teacher mentors. We are
looking forward to an exciting year as we educate and excite our students in not only the 3 R’s of schooling but also the 3 R’s
of our environment. We’ve included several flyers that can serve as helpful reminders on how to reduce waste and recycle in
your home. We hope that you’ll hang them up as friendly reminders.
Thank you for your support,
Your VG Green Team moms,
Jen Romano, Shannon Kong, and Laura Valvassori

9. 3. Organize lunch room
Each exit:
3 trash cans
2 recycling cans
2 buckets for liquids
crate for good uneaten food to be donated
Several GT members
One adult to assist
when possible

10. 5. Create signage
Show students:
 What goes in the trash bins
 What goes in the recycling bins
 Signs on each bin
 Poster size on walls in lunchroom

12. 6. Getting Custodian on board
Deciding what is doable
Agreement on level of commitment
Two-way communication
Emphasize that the work now will
result in less work for him

13. 6. Fundraising Efforts
At Carnival, we sold:
Seedlings: $42 profit
Water bottles:
*Pouch Pals = $120 *Metal bottles = $150
VAPUR (no profit but great
encouragement for kids
to use reusable bottles)

14. 7. Educating Student Body
Wastebusters presentation
Peak Corps Presentation
Earthcapades assembly
Regular reminders in the lunchroom
about not making trash

15. 7. Educating Student Body
 VGTV
 Weekly “TV” going into every classroom with Green
Team members giving Green Tips of the Week
Introduction of the program
Pounds of food wasted in a week
Turning off lights and energy vampires
Cutting back on water usage
Carnival fundraiser
Eliminate plastic baggies
Waste Audit
Post consumer waste paper
Alternative Christmas wrapping paper ideas
Recycling Christmas trees
Bringing your own bags to stores
Recycling on the road while on vacation

17. 8. Educating Ourselves
Visit to Burton Valley
Alliance with Sustainable Danville
Attending Green Summit meetings

18. Emerson Good Samaritan Act
 Gave liability protection to businesses who donated food
to nonprofits and charities
 Revised December 2011
 Now includes schools in liability protection when
donating excess food.
 “From Bill H.R.2112:
– Sec. 734. Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
`(l) Food Donation Program-
– `(1) IN GENERAL- Each school and local educational
agency participating in the school lunch program
under this Act may donate any food not consumed
under such program to eligible local food banks or
charitable organizations.”
 Still in the process of finding out how this applies to us.

19. VG Green PRIDE

21. VG Green PRIDE
How long
does it live
in our
landfill?
A plastic bag 10-20 years
A plastic bottle 450 years
Styrofoam Forever

22. VG Green PRIDE
Did you know?
The United States has only 6%
of the world population,
but produces 1/2 of the world's
garbage.
Americans throw away
enough aluminum every 3 months
to rebuild all of the airplanes that we use.

23. VG Green PRIDE
How can VG
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
in the lunch room?
Using re-usable products
instead of
single-use products

24. VG Green PRIDE
Here are some
earth friendly
lunch room ideas

25. VG Green PRIDE
Re-usable Bottles:
Vapur $5
$12 Metal
Plastic (BPA free) $6

26. VG Green PRIDE
Plastic baggie alternatives:
Re-usable containers
PLASTIC METAL CONTAINERS
REUSABLE BOXES/LUNCH BAGS
Tupperware lifewithoutplastic
ecolunchboxes
GLAD amazon
onesmallstep

27. VG Green PRIDE
Plastic baggie alternatives:
Wax paper bags
(they decompose quickly)
One Earth Health (Danville)($3.50/box of 50)
Re-usable sandwich bags
•Lunchskins ($8.95 each)
•Pouchpals ($9.00 each)

28. VG Green PRIDE
Recycle. Reuse. Reduce.
If you’re not part of the solution,
you’re part of the problem

29. Other Reuse Ideas

30. Classroom Party Package
 Teachers and a parent coordinate a
box filled with reusable items for
parties. Includes cloth napkins, plates,
bowls, cups and flatware.
 Package stored at a home or within
classroom.
 At time of a party, items are used then
are sent home with one or several
students to be cleaned then returned to
party box.

31. Reuse Drives
As part of the Sister School program
Book drives
Stuffed animals
Stinky sneakers
Sports equipment
One warm coat
End of the year school supplies
Next year: red ribbon reuse

32. End of the Year School Supply Drive
Purpose:
 To donate our school supplies to organizations that
redistribute the used school and office supplies
(including text books) to those in need.
Teach the kids to recycle and reuse.
History:
 Vista Grande has had 3 successful years of providing end
of the year supplies for specific beneficiaries.
 Beneficiaries, in order of priority:
(details of each organization on following page)
– Sister School, EM Downer Elementary
– Dumpster Diversion (will provide collection barrels)
– Books for the Barrios

33. End of the Year School Supply Drive
When:
Items collected last week of school.
Organizing and drop-off/pickup occurs week after school.
Volunteer time commitments:
During last week of school 2-3 hours;
week after school out 6-8 hours.
Action Steps:
– Allow schools to opt into the program
– Determine whether sister school would like used supplies
and mode of delivery or pickup
– Communicate to school parents and staff about the collection
– Identify parent volunteers and HS leadership kids to assist with
collection, organizing and possibly dropping off goods
– Assist with organization of collecting supplies
and delivery / pick up to beneficiaries