Every year, teachers from across Massachusetts join The Green Team to integrate environmental education and actions with their students. There many are Eco-Stars out there who do wonders in their school, and we are very grateful for the teachers and students who work to improve our environment. In the 2010-2011 school year, we were pleased to spotlight two inspiring schools.
Helen E. James Elementary, Willamsburg, MA
First Grade teacher Johanna Korpita has been leading a Green Team at her school since 2004 and her students always do a great job to improve their school’s environmental performance. Her twelve 1st-graders participated in many Green Team activities, such as calculating their carbon footprint, holding waste-free lunches, mapping safe-routes to school and planting a tree.
Each year, we try to do something that the other classes haven’t done. This year, we learned a lot about what we, as 6 year olds, could do to help the Earth. The children decided that they wanted to make a film to encourage others to help the Earth. We brainstormed, they told me points that they wanted people to understand, and then I typed up a script. They practiced their lines, eventually memorized their parts, and then I filmed their “Public Service Announcement”, entitled IT’S EASY BEING GREEN! We then showed this film to all classes in both of our town’s schools. Later on in the year, we had a premiere of our PSA at a Williamsburg School Committee meeting. The School Committee, our School District Superintendent, our School Principal, and many townsfolk and parents viewed the PSA and they were all duly impressed! It was a wonderful learning experience for everyone! We are also working in conjunction with our school cafeteria, our school custodian, our school gardening committee, and CET to coordinate composting our school lunch waste. We have found a local farm that is willing to take our compost that our school garden can’t use, so the First Graders will be hard at work to make this program successful, along with the aforementioned folk. The students are very aware of the difference that they can make. They have honed their public speaking skills and they have become wonderful champions for their cause!”
Ms. Korpita, Helen E. James Elementary
Last year, Johanna Korpita’s Green Team received a grand prize performance from entertainer and educator Jack Golden. The whole school was treated to his informative yet fun one-man-show that “reinforce[d] the lessons that [the] class has been learning and what they are trying to teach others about.”
We are always excited to hear about Ms. Korpita’s Green Team and their accomplishments. Thank you for all you do!
Annie L. Sargent School, North Andover MA
Kindergarten-5th Grade teachers Jeanne Caron & Lisa Conti led the charge for their school’s Green Teams, which have been active for four years now! They have been busy bringing the classroom outside to get closer to nature. Here is how it went in their own words:
We’re working on a whole nature’s outdoor classroom. We have a wooded area of study with boardwalks, nature trails, tables and benches. I had some former Eagle Scouts make everything for us. We also have fenced in wetlands with a dock for pond samples. Lastly, I wanted to build a garden that was handicap accessible with raised beds, could be a hands-on teaching tool for all of the students in the building grades K-5 and ties into the butterfly unit of study. We have a flower garden and tried to plant flowers that would attract butterflies. We want to work with the cafe and school nurse with healthy eating so we’re planting, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, radishes, etc. We also wanted to create a Memory Garden for all of the former Sargent School Students who have passed away . . . Inside, we reduce electricity and water usage, reuse everything possible and recycle paper, plastic, Capri Suns, Nabisco wrappers, glue sticks and so much more . . . Our goal for our school is not only to go green but to be leading the way with science.”
Connecting environmental education with nature’s wonder is a powerful teaching tool. This is a wonderful resource for all the Annie L. Sargent School students!
Congratulations to both Eco-Star schools and keep up the great work!
