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The EverGreen Schools Alliance (EGSA) is an alliance of Pre-K to 12th grade schools who have pledged to reduce their energy and carbon footprint.

Subject: notes from We want to thank all who attended the November 5th EverGreen Schools Alliance & Hillsborough County Schools meeting on ?Moving Towards a County-Wide Recycling Program?
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 12:14:17 -0600
From: sustany@sustany.org

We want to thank all who attended our fourth meeting, the December 1st EverGreen Schools Alliance & Hillsborough County Schools meeting on “Moving Towards a County-Wide Recycling Program” at Learning Gate Community School.

Again, it was a well attended meeting and showed us there is much interest in the county for such a program. Participants had an opportunity to hear a presentation about Learning Gate, how they recycle, and about other things they are doing. Also, Karen Bryant, Pasco County Schools recycling coordinator presented on Pasco’s 18 year old recycling program. YES, 18 YEARS!! . There was also opportunity for attendees to ask questions and hear about the progress on Hillsborough’s plans for a program of its own.

EverGreen Schools Alliance & HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOLS

“Moving Towards a County-Wide Recycling Program”

Tuesday, December 1^st, 2009, Learning Gate Elementary 6:30 – 8:00 pm, 16215 Hanna Rd.
Lutz, FL 33549

Attendance list separately (to be sent under separate email)

Approximately 23 in attendance.

Moderators:

Brian Curry, brian_curry@hotmail.com

David Borisenko, david.borisenko@sdhc.k12.fl.us

David was unable to attend, but PJ Crespo, Hillsborough County Schools, spoke to the RFI and said the RFP process is underway and the RFP is being developed (RFP, Request for Proposal) for a recycling program for all of Hillsborough County Schools, RFP to be coming out in January but not confirmed.

There are 245 school sites in the county.
Goal of 75% recycled materials,
RFP will be let something after the first of the year.
Questions to prospective vendors:
- What would you be willing to take, do you charge, or pay?

Learning Gate Community Charter School

Presentation and Tour of Learning Gate by Patti Girard, Michelle Mason, and ……..
1^st Platinum LEED for Schools building in the US

Recycling efforts

Green Lunch Containers and water bottles for all students –
There is 0 Waste in the Lunch room
Recycled water
Recycle electricity
Rain barrels, cisterns, composting in organic garden

Learning Gate staff will be happy to give tours of the school
Kids have 5^th grade team to educate the public, you can come to them or they can come to you

Other features:

Learning Gate has 500 kids and $15,000 year in savings from waste reduction measures
Lunchroom washes the containers

Patty’s Girardi’s (principal) suggestions in moving towards a recycling program at your school

Pick one thing at a time
Use kids as Ambassadors
Recycling starts at an education level-then infuse into the entire curriculum

Learning Gate Curriculum related

Biome Presentation (study of the forest biome) was available for attendees to look prior to the meeting
Curriculum – Seed to Soup curriculum has not been published yet but a sample of lesson plans specific to recycling in very rough draft form is available to anyone who wants a copy.
There is a separate curriculum for K-3 and 4-8. If you are with a Hillsborough School, they will send through the school mail. Just let Michelle or Patty know which you need and to where.
This was part of the school being used as a teaching tool as part of the LEED certification.
A Sustainability Section of their website.
Showed presentation that was written and performed by students explaining the green features of the school. www.learninggate.org/susliv.html
Presentation was presented at the National Charter Schools Conference in Washington, DC
Some projects the students are involved in include: Cost Benefit Analysis; Sunscreen for Yeast and People, Too; Cardboard buildings w/ different insulation; Future City Competition – Nationwide event, planning for a city 150 years from now; Think Quest Competition

Pasco County Recycling Program

Karen Bryant – Pasco County Schools Recycling Coordinator – How they are doing it in Pasco County

Pasco County Schools

77 schools, 66,000 students, about ½ the size of Hillsborough County, plans to expand 20 more schools in the next 5 years
There are 1-4 ‘recycling’ liaisons are on campus at each school, its mandatory

The Pasco Program

Focus of program is Energy, Recycling and Water
Words of Wisdom – Education is critical
Involve the custodial staff
Top down” commitment
Make recycling look attractive and easy to do
Developed recycling program to reduce solid waste assessment (18 years in existence)

The Details

Savings from recycling fund the coordinator position and assistant
Resource conservation is another major focus, reduce packaging, recycled content, recyclable, per policy
Using native plants and less fertilizer is county policy
Teachers use environmental curriculum
EVERYONE recycles
1700 tons yearly
Recycling is backhauled to one central location that is mid-county
Top 10 schools receive prize money for most batteries
Bi-metal food service cans ???????
Styrofoam is processed by county office, paid for depending on how clean it is, (there are days when it cannot be recycled when it is too dirty)
Paper is recycled at the sites through Green Fiber. All other products go back to the county.
Pepsi and Coke provide recycling containers for the school at no cost. All #1 and #2 plastics are recycled
Marketing of the program focuses on making it easy for the schools
free containers are offered
“gotcha” and “thank you” door hangers (when classrooms are ‘caught” not recycling
Earth patrol vests for students (older students just use lanyard)
A ‘Reuse Center’ is open to all teachers to take supplies for their classrooms, old office supplies etc. free supplies to encourage recycling,
Program has been going for 18 years, CONGRATS

Questions/comments/audience input

Participant comment/questions

Participant asked how do you get the uninterested involved? Answers from several included theses comments:

Bribery, gift certificates
grade level prizes
programs like ‘Bottles for Brownies’ and ‘Candy for Cans’ to get the kids started, then they continued without the bribery

Students take recycling to areas at many schools, this makes lighter work for custodial staff

Not many schools have recycling coordinators

Recycle Florida Today is a good source of information

Multiple vendors pick up materials from the central location, vendors are reselected each year

Next meeting will be in January, Date TBD

EverGreen Schools Alliance & HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOLS

“Moving Towards a County-Wide Recycling Program”

THURSDAY – November 5^th, 2009, Instructional Service Center (ISC), 2920 N. 40^th Street, Room 161, 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Attendance list separately (to be sent under separate email) Approximately 35 in attendance.

Moderators:

Brian Curry, brian_curry@hotmail.com

David Borisenko, david.borisenko@sdhc.k12.fl.us

David is conducting an RFI (to be developed into and RFP, Request for Proposal) for a recycling program for all of Hillsborough County Schools,

There are 245 school sites in the county.
Goal of 75% recycled materials,
Deadline for RFI is Nov 10^th.
Questions to prospective vendors:
- What would you be willing to take, do you charge, or pay?

Teacher/School Panels

Lawton Chiles Elementary
Learning Gate Community Charter School

Learning Gate Community Charter School (Patti Girard, Michelle Mason)

1^st Platinum LEED for Schools building in the US

Recycling efforts

Green Lunch Containers and water bottles for all students –
There is 0 Waste in the Lunch room
Recycled water
Recycle electricity
Rain barrels, cisterns, composting in organic garden

Learning Gate staff will be happy to give tours of the school
Kids have 5^th grade team to educate the public, you can come to them or they can come to you

Other features:

Learning Gate has 500 kids and $15,000 year in savings from waste reduction measures
Lunchroom washes the containers

Patty’s Girardi’s (principal) suggestions in moving towards a recycling program at your school

Pick one thing at a time
Use kids as Ambassadors
Recycling starts at an education level-then infuse into the entire curriculum

Lawton Chiles Elementary School (Sharon Cutler)

Recycling efforts

Recycling program has been in place for 4 years including:

Recycling containers onsite that can also be used by the families, in parking lot for easy drop off
After lunch- large blue containers throughout the school
Recycling containers in classes and community areas
Students sort materials
Plastics and junk mail recycled
Gets students involved for success
Recycling in front hallway as reminder so visible as reminder to parents
Recycling drink pouches – receive funds for recycling, pouches are recycled through TerraCycle for $.02 a pouch

Poster contest held to remind people to recycle
Best Metals used for aluminum collection
Blue plastic containers at Lawton were purchased from Staples
Coca Cola will pay for containers to put in the classroom

Other features:

School has only received under $200 for paper and metal BUT they are not paying to have recyclables taken away or adding to the landfills
Use of after-care students to take recyclables out to the parking lot, it is possible to use after care
Kids are the best advocates

Recycling Vendor Panel

Conex Recycling – Jason LeBlanc www.conexrecycling.com

Works with Keep Hillsborough Beautiful.
Use 95 gallon containers
Will take paper products, shredded, regular paper, phone books
Plastic #1-7 and glass, no need to take off lids when disposing
Also does comingled container – #10 metal and plastic jugs
Works w/ USF St. Pete Campus
Charge monthly by containers, more containers is less money per container, no contracts, can make changes to containers and number of cans as customer determines needs
$15-$35 a month per container is a rough idea of the cost
Saving one pickup of regular container may pay for service

Question: What do you do with products? Paper goes to Largo then Dublin, GA, plastic and aluminum goes to Polk Co

GreenFiber -Tammy English www.greenfiber.com

paper recycling
Makes cellulose insulation out of materials
Tour of plant available in Ybor area, 6-7 at a time
Dollars paid back to schools individually, $5,000.00 in last months
$15 ton paid to schools, paid every 60 days
ALL of the operation is Local – insulation made is sold back to Lowes or Home Depot
Can’t take wet paper towels
Tammy has DVD that gives tour of plant

EPS Partners – Doug Fyvolent –– Styrofoam recycling www.recyclemystyrofoam.com

Plant in Pinellas Co employs disabled.
Styrofoam must be clean to be recycled
EPS Partners are now working with teaching kids how to keep Styrofoam clean so it can be recycled
Tours of plant available
The recycled material is used for CD cases, molding, cell phones – melted back to plastic

Planet Partnership – Bruce Walling www.planetpartnership.com

Ideal Student program is for grades 1-12
All materials are on website
Elementary based on CSI – where did the power go?
Middle and High School programs – High school also includes club which can be merged into a current club
Working with Hillsborough and Polk Co
Videos are approved – no copyright issues
Curriculum specialists are reviewing in science and social studies
Can give card and access to anyone interested in going online
Program is free to schools, paid for by other businesses

Questions/comments/audience input

Participant comment/questions

Participant asked how do you get the uninterested involved? Answers from several included theses comments:

Bribery, gift certificates
grade level prizes
programs like ‘Bottles for Brownies’ and ‘Candy for Cans’ to get the kids started, then they continued without the bribery

Participant comment – County view – trying to coordinate throughout the county

A possible Issue – do we use money from cans to pay for plastic recycling?

Cost savings of reduction of trash should be able to pay for any fees but it is not currently the system

Participant comment – At PIzzo elementary, paper and cardboard are recycled and they use the ream box for collection of recycling, kids really get interested and excited

From Plant City – concerned that materials are being land filled instead to going recycle location; can that be part of RFP criteria?

Also consider distances driven to recycle, try to keep recycling local, may be possible to make this part of RFP points system
we need ‘Behavior Modification’ at several levels – School Mgmt, School Bd, Principals, Must be top down

Do we call this a Recycling or Environmental Program? What about Sustainability?

Recycling is a great place to start

Suggestion: Maybe start by recycling a few materials county-wide and work towards success; work out kinks, building something that can grow; need to start somewhere and select materials carefully; and build momentum

One of the schools started 4 years ago with Solid Waste and now has Garden Club, started with 3^rd Graders and has expanded, keep speakers coming into the classroom

There is a document (Margee Barlow-Plante has it) of schools that are doing recycling and some have stopped, …..the question is why they stopped? – It was discussed that if a program is being run by a teacher that leaves, there is no one else to continue program. Also another reason; some containers were contaminated and not producing enough and were therefore removed

Could a ‘recycling program’ be part of the School Improvement Plan, through Science and tie it to standards? Discussed that with the goals for the mock answers that it includes suggestions, Candy to consider adding that to the plan.

Pasco has mandated for each school to recycle

How many homes/business have access to recycling in Hillsborough County? Or would use the school system?

Out of 7,000 business in Tampa, ONLY 408 recycle

Discussed issues with Hillsborough County since it includes Tampa and other cities; 250,000 households in Hillsborough Co with approximately 30-35% recycling.

It is clear that schools want plastic pickup, glass, aluminum, and paper.

Success story was to show a graph of the top recyclers and reward. Wal-Mart gave bicycles to the top boy and girl for school

Congratulations to the Winners of Our EGSA Student Project Contest

Classroom category

Certificates of Recognition

Learning Gate Community School Scott Mellum

Learning Gate Community School Scott Wilson

Learning Gate Community School Nancy Niemann

Muller Magnet School Robyn Fredericks

Certificates of Achievement

Learning Gate Community School Holly Whelan

Learning Gate Community School Kelly Pelloni

Learning Gate Community School Heather Lowder

Learning Gate Community School Angela Divi

Learning Gate Community School Jessica Ancer

Learning Gate Community School Summer Solomon

Certificates of Sustenance

Learning Gate Community School Kin Van Den Broecke

Learning Gate Community School Melissa Bondoc

Dowdell Middle School Allan Dyer, Michelle Lineberry, Susan Ferrell

School category

Certificates of Recognition

Academy Prep Center of Tampa Rebecca Gard

Mabry Elementary School Kathy McDonald

Randall Middle School Kristy Verdi

Ben Hill Middle School Belinda Salmon

Certificates of Achievement

Eisenhower Middle School Amy Abdnour

Edison Elementary School Julia O’Connell

Certificates of Sustenance

DeSoto Elementary School Sherri Alvarez

Carrollwood Day School Carrie Prieto

The new History Museum will be exhibiting the winners of our contest

Brian Curry

The Sustany Foundation and EverGreen Schools Alliance

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DeSoto Elementary, Tampa, FL

Earth Day Rally and Eco-educational Fair.

DeSoto’s Earth Day Rally and Eco-educational Fair will focus on eco-friendly projects made by, presented by, and visited by students. Each grade level will have booths presenting specific topics, including: Water Conservation, Hydrological Cycle, Endangered FL Wildlife, Parts of a Tree/How to Plant a Tree, Our Carbon Footprint, Recycling, Water Erosion/Natural Water Systems, Hurricane Preparedness, and FL Climate Change. The DeSoto Rally will recognize Earth Day poetry and poster contest winners and include the presentation of their can tab collection to the Shriners Hospital for Children.

Randall Middle School, Lithia, FL

Lunchroom Recycling Project

The students will be given instructions on how to separate lunch waste into recycle bins and, on one day, each lunch period will separate their waste so the school can determine how much waste is produced per lunch period on any given day. This data will be submitted to a recycling company, which will then give them an estimate of their total recycling volume for the next entire school year. This project will include a visual display in the cafeteria to explain process, handouts with related Earth Day team building, and video activities about the school recycling program.

Academy Prep Center, Tampa, FL

Earth Day – Every Day at Academy Prep

Academy Prep works with several organizations, including: Boy Scouts, Lightning Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Earth Scouts, and Upper Tampa Bay Park on being eco-conscious and helping the environment. At their Spring Picnic on April 18, they will have displays to educate the families and community on awareness of eco-friendly benefits, striving to be Earth Day-conscious every day.

Ben Hill Middle School, Tampa, FL

Great American Clean Up

Ben Hill Middle School is working with the non-profit organization, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful, to participate in The Great American Clean Up. So far 123 students have signed up to clean up the Cypress Dome Community that is on the Ben Hill M.S. campus and adjacent to the school and part of the Hillsborough River Watershed. The Clean Up will take place on April 18, 2009. Trash will be collected and weighed. There will also be Earth Day Chalk Art on the track, ecological information delivered before and after this activity, and Earth Day cake. Students who participate will receive 3 community service hours, the satisfaction of giving back to the Earth, and a wonderful memory of an Eco-friendly day.

Dowdell Middle Magnet School, Tampa, FL

Hillsborough River Ambassadors

A group of 40 students in grades 6-9 will study the Hillsborough River at 3 different points. These students have canoed the Hillsborough River from Hillsborough River State Park, visited and tested water at Crystal Springs Preserve, seeing the beginning of the Hillsborough River and studying its biodiversity. This same group of students will visit Withlacoochee River Park, part of the Green Swamp and the watershed that includes the Hillsborough River. This group of students will return to the Hillsborough River State Park in May, comparing the condition of the river from what they experienced in February.

These students then will have not only studied the river as scientists, but will also have enjoyed the experience of being on the river. These students will develop conservation posters, Power Point presentations, and journals to inform a larger audience the importance of conservation and protection of the Hillsborough River.

Edison Elementary, Tampa, FL

Gardens of Honor

Fifth grade students are working to learn about plant friendly environments and will be growing flowers to plant in two gardens on Earth Day. The fifth graders will also be doing research on the lives of Dr. Benjamin Carson and Harriett Tubman to learn about their contribution to our world.

Prior to Earth Day, parents will be informed of our school-wide project and invited to participate with their children. Then, on April 22^nd, each class, from Kindergarten through fourth grade will be given garbage bags and protective gloves. They will pick up trash from our school grounds, and the fifth graders will plant flowers in the garden. We hope to dedicate the two gardens, each dedicated to one of these famous African-Americans on that day with selected fifth graders sharing information on these individuals. The children’s efforts will be photographed and displayed, and they will write or illustrate short reflections describing what they did, what they learned, and how they felt about their part in Earth Day. Some fifth graders will also write to Dr. Carson, describing their project and sending pictures of the garden in his honor.

Mabry Elementary School, Tampa, FL

Mabry Beautification Day

Mabry Beautification Day will include many school-wide and grade-specific activities. On this day, the students, parents and teachers will clean up, trim, weed, and mulch. They will also prepare the grounds for the Butterfly Garden planting. There will also be Walking Wednesday, to encourage alternative transportation, and “Try It” Wednesday, during which the students will taste and compare organic and non-organic produce. The fourth grade will have a presentation from Nina Stokes of the city’s recycling department and make handmade paper from old paper. The fifth graders will have a presentation by Dr. Mike Tringali, a marine researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The students will learn about Florida’s native butterflies and the importance of their habitat.

Mykel Atkins, Tampa, FL (home-schooled)

Earth sculpture: “Wood dent it be nice to see whirled piece?”

Mykel’s project involves creating a colorful painted bike wheel with rubber ball painted with colors of the earth in the middle. This will be installed outdoors, and passers-by can give the wheel a spin for a visual reminder of how beautiful the earth is. This art piece will use recycled materials to convey an ecological message.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Claymation Movie

The students will learn about threats to the watershed and then create a story about the effects of the pollution and how to stop it. The students will create a claymation movie using kid-friendly software which can be shown to both children and adults to educate them on the effects of water pollution.

Eisenhower Middle School, Gibstonton, FL

Stuff the Recycling Cans

Every morning of designated week, students, staff, and community encouraged to bring metal cans and plastic bottles and containers to stuff the recycling cans. Stickers, pencils,

magnets, Frisbees, and such given to every student wearing green and stuffing the cans.

Raffle tickets for every item stuffed. Daily prize drawings with big weekend drawing for

larger prizes and gift cards.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Native Scallop Project

Students will research native bay scallops of the region and their decline in Tampa Bay. They will sample and compare water against requirements and basic needs of species, then formulate hypotheses about causes for their decline in the Tampa Bay estuary. The students will then inspect the habitat for a resident population of scallops and display the results of their research on project boards. With this information, the students can theorize a recovery model and implement it.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Water Volume on Earth

The middle school students will use five gallons of water in an aquarium to represent all water on earth. Using relative percentages of each source of water on earth, they will visualize the amount of freshwater available for human use. In describing the amount and distribution of earth’s water sources, the students will also make inferences about the importance of responsible water use. A mural of the water cycle will be created, and students will give their explanations of why it is important for humans to use water responsibly and how they can conserve this resource.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Packaging Redesign

For this project, the students will calculate the surface area of the packaging of several common products, then alter the dimensions to optimize the surface area while maintaining volume. They will calculate the amount of materials saved. In so doing, they will learn how to minimize effects of consumer byproducts on the environment. The students will create displays with posters and sample containers, both actual and optimized, prepare a leaflet showing calculations, and make oral presentations.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

World Water Usage

Working in small groups, the students will compare/contrast daily water usage between households found in various countries and create science boards showing their findings. The groups will then compare their results. These displays will show how and why each household consumes water. In so doing, they will learn that easy access to clean, free water is not a given in other parts of the world. By learning how other countries use this resource, they will develop a better appreciation for what they have and the need to conserve it.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Kindergarten Tri-fold Books: Land, Sea & Air.

After reading “The Lorax” and “Dear Children of the Earth” the Kindergarten students will use 11X17 paper to create a tri-fold to show what they love about these parts of our earth. They will use a variety of materials to show an appreciation and respect for our earth.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Green Building Models

Fifth-grade students will learn how our new LEED certified “Green Buildings” currently conserve energy and use reclaimed water, their build their own models to demonstrate sustainable water use. They will compare water use in their building with other water treatment options and build a small scale “living machine” to gain an understanding of energy-water nexus. The project will include student presentations and posters.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

“Lights, Camera, Take Action”

A class of 3rd graders will read recent newspaper and internet articles about Florida’s current 3 year drought, use a daily water use chart for the days to see how much water they consume as a class, and then begin our “water conservation challenge”. The students will collaborate to find ways to take “action” and reduce their water usage. Then, using I-Movie software, they will create a short film focusing on water conservation. The movie will be on the class website, so that on Earth day; each student can show three family members or friends the video and encourage them to “Take Action”.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Solar Water Heater and Pasteurizer

First grade students will construct their own solar water heater and pasteurizer from everyday recyclable materials, to demonstrate one way to conserve and recycle water. Many of their families have rain barrels at home and are looking for alternative drinking water because of our current drought. The project will include a display board and Powerpoint presentation documenting this project.

Learning Gate Community School, Lutz, FL

Grocery Bag Outreach

Students will write environmental messages on paper grocery bags to promote the use of reusable bags or paper bags while discouraging the use of plastic bags. These bags will be distributed at a local grocery store to be used for bagging groceries on Earth Day, in order to educate the public on the dangers of plastic bags on the environment.

Earth Day ECOfestival April 22, 2009

Celebrate, Educate and Share

WHAT

Is your school participating in Earth Day? The Sustany Foundation , and its education initiative, the EverGreen Schools Alliance, EGSA, is compiling a list of schools and their Earth Day projects and celebrations to share with the Tampa Bay community. Whether geared toward students only or open to the public, we would like to recognize your school for honoring our environment by posting your projects on our website and highlighting them at Sustany’s booth at ECOfestival 2009 on April 25th in downtown Tampa.

WHO

The Sustany Foundation www.sustany.org has partnered with the Urban Charrette www.urbancharette.org (see ECO-Lution / ECOFestival on this site) and Southwest Florida Water Management District www.swfwmd.state.fl.us to bring focus on the Hillsborough River and its watershed, the vital role it plays in our community, and the importance of education in conserving it as a natural resource. Go to these sites to learn more about Sustany, Urban Charette, and the Southwest Florida Water management District.
We have gathered an EverGreen Schools Alliance panel to review schools’ Earth Day efforts and will invite 5 schools to present their projects and celebrations at ECOfestival on April 25 in Tampa.

HOW

Your project can address anything you choose, but it should be related to the theme of Earth Day and the environment. Because The Sustany Foundation is focusing on the Hillsborough River and its watershed for the upcoming ECO-Festival, those projects and celebrations concentrating on topics such as alternative water sources, flood protection, natural water systems, water conservation, water quality and watersheds will have an advantage as far as one of the five schools selected to be part of Ecofestival on April 25th,though all projects will be reviewed fairly and given equal attention.

WHAT TO DO

Submit your project/celebration ECOfestival application found on the last page of this document to Sustany/EverGreen Schools Alliance. It should include:

Overall goals

What do you expect to achieve with your project? Outstanding projects tend to be those that will educate and involve students, parents, and the community about the environmental issues, and provide opportunities to learn, and provide practical ways for individuals, families and communities to become involved in preserving and improving the environment.

Project presentation

A project should be presented logically and clearly. You are our best educators. The more you educate yourself, the better you can educate your community.

Creativity

Projects should be innovative and creative. Use your talents – songs, art, posters, plays – there is no limit to your educational ingenuity.

SUBMISSION DATE: 5:00 p.m., April 15, 2009

Please submit your electronic application to: brian@sustany.org

Also, if you have questions, email brian@sustany.org, or call 813 545-5222

The Sustany Foundation encourages environmental and social responsibility by supporting individuals and organizations committed to stewardship and sustainability. For more information on the Sustany
Foundation, go to: www.Sustany.org.

Sustany/EverGreen Schools Alliance ECOfestival Application

Join us. Take a moment to share by filling out the form below. OR if you choose, a form in WORD is attached at the very bottom of this
email

School Name:

School Address:

Contact Person:

Telephone Number:

Email:

Description of project:

Overall goals:

Audience: Who is the project geared towards?

Project presentation (including size, dimensions of project, how it will be presented, posters, audio, visual media, etc.):

Creativity: Why is your project unique?
———————-

Links from our recent meeting:

Here are some interesting links from that discussion:

http://www.greenfiber.com/corporate/environmental_information.asp GreenFiber promotes recycling through our Community Paper Recycling Program. This program helps schools, churches, neighborhoods and businesses reduce waste disposal costs and divert paper from landfills.

http://www.bestmetalsprojectcando.com/about.php Located in Clearwater,Best Metal Recycling is a metal recycling facility specializing in all areas of metal transportation, handling, and processing.

http://www.rootsandshoots.org/ Roots & Shoots, a program of the Jane Goodall Institute, is a powerful, youth-driven, global network of more than 8,000 groups in almost 100 countries. Together, youth of all ages are taking action to improve our world through service learning projects that promote care and concern for animals, the environment and the human community.

http://www.cgkidz.com/ Kid created site where kids can talk about the environment, products to use at home, school and in our communities.

http://aveda.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.asp Aveda is announcing a new recycling initiative that helps extend the current boundaries of recycling. With their network of salons and stores, in partnership with community schools, they are building a new recycling program for plastic bottle caps in which caps are collected at stores and schools and then sent by Aveda to their recycler where the material is recycled into new caps and containers.

https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/member/home.action;jsessionid=46DB0DBB13EA8F48ADCB3061965D50D1.tomcat2
cut back on direct mail:
credit offers, catalogs, magazine offers (this includes subscription offers, newsletters, periodicals and other promotional mailings)and other mail offers (this includes donation requests, bank offers, retail promotions and more).

Notes from previous meetings:
Mark Maksimowicz of New Earth Industries, was amazing. Check out his low-cost solution to our trashed waterways, outflows, lakes, & retention ponds at www.watergoat.org. I’m going to present this to our neighborhood association BOD. He presented REALLY scary point of view about the condition of our water from one of the original Green Armada guys. Thank goodness he also has a solution that’s easy to implement. (He has also created planting beds that float on retention ponds and purify them, while growing veggies. Very cool! One such bed can be seen at an industrial park with ponds/fountains just before the 54th St. exit off I-275 in St. Pete.)

The assembled group of a dozen or so parents had a very animated exchange of ideas. Some that they are implementing in their schools are:

Youngest child only flyers
Double sided copies
Walking Wednesday
Composting & micro-irrigation projects
Monitoring school electric & water meters daily
Recycling clubs
Foam lunch tray recycling ideas

Here are some interesting links from that discussion
http://www.catalogchoice.org/ – Act NOW to terminate the massive Christmas shopping mail-outs at this website, where you can “just say no” to junk mail. Another site for this purpose is www.greendimes.com, but that is a subscription service.

www.treehugger.com – This came from our speaker, He said he shuddered at the name and was reluctant to go there, but it turns out to be an amazing compendium of green initiative nationwide. He told the parents how much he admired what they were trying to do “with pennies” in these trying times (when grant money is drying up) and encouraged them to strategically market their efforts on this site. Apparently, it’s easy to pick up donations/sponsors in such a way, with the right “hook.”

About EGSA

By teaming with Sustany, EverGreen Schools Alliance, formerly the Environmental Improvement Force, is able to address important issues within the school system with a multi-phase, multi-year alliance aimed at establishing: environmental improvement PTA committees; recycling programs within these schools; and clean and safe (toxin-free) environment for students.

The Sustany Foundation was founded in 2007 to improve the Bay area’s quality of life by promoting a culture of sustainability on a local level. The Foundation encourages environmental and social responsibility by supporting individuals and organizations committed to stewardship and sustainability. We serve as a conduit between those who wish to contribute their time and/or their assets to protecting and enhancing our quality of life, and those who have effective plans and programs in development or underway that complement and advance our mission.

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Schools

Congratulations to the Winners of Our EGSA Student Project Contest

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