Interact With Green Schools!

Green Schools Sponsors

Gold Level Sponsor 

Silver Level Sponsor 

Check out the latest edition of our Student Ambassador Newsletter 

Executive Director, Robin Organ, participated in several forums with the Green Schools National Advisory Board.  Robin is honored to serve the Advisory Board in this capacity and hopes to bring the Green Print to ALL Schools. 

Green Schools favorite moments included working with students from across our nation and beginning to frame out our National Green Schools Student Advisory Council.

Green Schools led a session on our National Green Schools Society Program and thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with our State Networks, Government Agencies, Nonprofit Organizations and friendly Green Businesses.  

We're looking forward to next year's conference in sunny CA!

National Green Week kicked off February 4th, but you can choose any week between February 8th and April 30th to participate. 

Here are some contests just for schools in MA:

T-Shirt Design Contest

One student from MA or RI will be invited to throw the first pitch at a Red Sox game this spring, will receive $250 for their school, and t-shirts with their winning design for their classroom! This contest asks K-5 students to create a t-shirt design that answers the question "What is your favorite way to save energy?" On the contest page, we provide links to energy saving tips, supplementary lessons and the complete contest rules. The deadline to apply is March 15 so please spread the word!

Energy Spotlight School

One school from MA, RI or NY will receive 100 Green Packs (reusable water bottles, shopping bags and snack containers) and will be featured on GEF's website for demonstrating their commitment to energy education and efficiency. Schools who do not yet have a program in place are encouraged to reach out to GEF for assistance in becoming a Spotlight School. Visit the Green Energy Challenge to find free resources and information about making energy a priority!

Find out more

Submissions Due March 15

The Wellesley Middle School Green Team should be very proud of their accomplishments.

Primary among them is the installation and use of raised bed gardens. The Green Team of 2012 assembled the garden, planted and harvested pumpkins and garlic and sent along a portion of their produce to the local food pantry. Nice!

The team also came together for a Litterless Lunch initiative. Members of the team designed a punch card for students that came to school with a Litterless Lunch. Upon receiving enough punches students earned raffle tickets towards prizes such as iTunes cards and locally made baked goods. Their Litterless Lunches even went 2.0 when team members sought out local sponsors. With the added support they offered weekly prizes! The team has made a great Prezi to inform all about Litterless Lunches. 

But, the team didn't stop there! They sought out (and were awarded!) a grant offered through the Wellesley Education Foundation of $1000 for the purchase of energy efficient LED lights to serve the cafeteria in case of an emergency. LED's are the latest in energy efficient lighting! 

The Green Team even put together a Green Week celebration and invited a nearby elementary school along to join in the celebrations. Hospitable and Sustainable... Great combination! Wish we were there... Rumor has it that one of our favorite bands was there...
 [Follow us on Tumblr] 

Salem Spins, an urban bike sharing program funded in part with Salem's Green Communities designation grant, racked up nearly 1,000 "rentals" during its first full season of operation from April - November 2012.  Assisted with $22,500 from Salem's 2010 Green Communities grant, the program enables city residents, visitors and students to avoid motorized traffic and parking woes by checking out bicycles at two hubs - the Hawthorne Hotel in downtown Salem and at Salem State College.  Ten hybrid bikes are parked at each location and available for use by those aged 18 and up. Operated with cooperation and support from Mayor Kim Driscoll's office, the Hawthorne Hotel, Salem State College, and several city agencies, Salem Spins was "well received" during its inaugural year, and will start up again this spring, said Salem Energy and Sustainability Manager Jeffrey Elie.  Salem Spins patrons receive a bike path brochure indicating local roads with shared lanes for bikes.

Click here to read more about Salem Spins and see other Regional Green initiatives 

Green your school! K-12 schools across the country are invited to enter the Green School Makeover Competition. For an application and a chance to win $75,000 in funding, along with Global Green USA's technical assistance in seeing the plans through to completion visit

GREEN SCHOOLS RECEIVED A GRANT from Next Step Living to ENHANCE STEM CURRICULUM by providing students with real world applications of energy efficiency and the renewable energy sector that utilizes STEM skills to achieve their professional goals.

STEM Ambassadors...STEMbassadors will be able to conduct research and outreach across Massachusetts.

Note: Throughout the course of this program, job shadowing opportunities will be provided as well as a chance to obtain an internship with NSL.

The Environment Eagles, Brown Elementary School's Environmental Club shared their wonderful fundraising idea and story with Green Schools.

The Environment Eagles Illumination Project: 

"Turning Old Wax into New Light"

"These beautiful handcrafted candles have a special story.  They are recycled candles made from leftover wax donated to us by Brown School families.  Our club melted down the old wax and made new candles.  Because our candles are made from a mix of so many different types of wax, our scents are unique with every new batch we make.

Suggested donation $2.00"

The following schools were turned in to U.S. Department of Education as Green Ribbon Schools Awards Nominees

Individual Schools and Districts self-nominate and each state assesses awards applications.  In the state of MA, awards were assessed by several State Agencies that make up the Green Ribbon Schools Working Group.

Honorees will be announced in April 2013 and awarded at a national ceremony in June 2013. 

Best of luck to all the schools nominated!!

For ten years parents, teachers, school nurses, custodians, advocates, and agencies have promoted National Healthy Schools Day activities nationwide. Whether you are at the beginning stages of investigating school environments or have an established Indoor Air/Environmental Quality program, we invite you to host a local activity that educates others and celebrates your school's successes.

National Healthy Schools Day is coordinated by Healthy Schools Network in cooperation with US EPA and promotes the use of EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools guidance as well as other EPA environmental health guidelines and programs for schools and children's health.

VIsit National Healthy Schools Day website for more information and ideas. 

Patrick will soon graduate from United World College-USA, an international boarding school in New Mexico. With his International Baccalaureate in hand he'll be looking to major in Environmental Studies, a goal that took root when he joined Green Schools as a student ambassador at the outset of his high school studies.

He spent his first two years of high school at Oliver Ames High School in Easton, MA where he was actively involved with Green Schools. When asked about his experience [in Mexico] Patrick commented that it was rewarding, "especially because of the base of support that we were able to provide to surrounding environmental high school organizations". 

Green Schools ambassadors have the opportunity to explore innovative projects and facilities during organized field trips across the region. Students explore renewable energy facilities, organic gardening projects, technology corporations, composting operations, recycling plants and more... Patrick recalled one of his most memorable moments during one of these trips...

"We went to a organic farm in Sandwich, MA and I could feel how all of us were inspired by the lifestyle that was present on the farm. We learned things from the visit that we could practically apply to our own lives."

To read the complete interview visit our Tumblr page

Each semester we select one graduate-level seminar and open it up to the entire campus and public-at-large to attend for free. Each week we feature prominent guest lecturers with real-world expertise and experience.

Participation is free and open to the public. After registering for the semester, you may attend whichever sessions you are interested in.

Registering helps us manage expectations about attendance. In addition, being on the class roster allows you to receive timely information through class announcements.

Designed to encourage students to excel in science and math and to pursue careers in those fields, the National Science Bowl brings together thousands of middle and high school students from across the country to compete on a range of science disciplines in a fast-paced, Jeopardy-style format. 

To register for their respective regional competitions in the upcoming Science Bowl, teams should go to the National Science Bowl website. In addition to basic registration information, the website also provides information on how teams can prepare and what they can expect in the upcoming regional events