Green Schools Initiative, a locally based non-profit that focuses on making schools greener nation-wide, is partnering with Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) to bring the Green Star Schools Program to more schools this year, and King has been selected to be one of them!

At the Sept. 5 PTA meeting, Deborah Moore from Green Schools Initiative gave an interesting and informative presentation on a new sustainability program being introduced this year at King.

This program helps reduce the environmental footprint of Berkeley schools, engages students in hands-on learning and real-world problem solving that is fun, and has the potential to save BUSD thousands of dollars. With grant support from the Altamont Education Advisory Board, they are focusing this year on reducing waste at our school.

To succeed, Green Star Schools needs US to participate! They will be working with students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators, and community members to reduce our school’s environmental impact. Please get involved and help us teach our students healthy habits by following some of the suggestions below.

Get Involved

We are looking for parents to help support waste reduction efforts during school events and support teachers in the program. Green Team members will participate in a 2-hour training session in October 2012 with other BUSD schools and then meet 3–4 times during the school year to support student activities.

Join the Green Team at King by contacting PTA President, Christine Staples at ptapresident@mlkmiddleschool.org.

For more information, please contact the following resource people:

Susan Silber, Project Coordinator at Green Schools Initiative at 510-525-1026 or susan@greenschools.net

Loren Nakamura, BUSD recycling contact, 510-644-6858,  lorennakamura@berkeley.net

Andrew Schneider, Recycling Program Manager, City of Berkeley, 510-981-6357, ASchneider@cityofberkeley.info

Program Updates

The King Middle School staff and students, and the team at the Green Schools Initiative are pleased to announce that new recycling efforts are finally underway! The following changes have taken place:

** Students can now recycle bottles and cans (all hard plastics, aluminum, glass) in new recycling bins placed in the hallways.
** Paper towels are now being composted in the bathrooms.
** Staff can now recycle and compost their waste in the staff room.
** We are pilot testing a breakfast compost system, and many teachers are participating in this effort.

We hope to reduce save both natural resources and money for the district with these efforts. BUSD currently has one of the lowest waste diversion rates in the district (an average of 40% per school, with Alameda and Albany districts at a 70% average). We can and will do better!

If you have any ideas, questions or concerns about this new system and other ways to reduce waste at King please email Green Schools Initiative staff Susan Silber: susansilber07@gmail.com

Many thanks to Linda Clark’s and Barbara Lind’s classes, the Student Council, David Gold, and the custodians for their efforts. The Green Star Schools program is a collaboration between BUSD and the Green Schools Initiative, working to reduce waste at eight schools, thanks to a grant from the Education Advisory Fund.

Tips from Green Schools on How To Be More Green

Reduce Waste

You can pack a no-waste lunch for your kids: Use reusable water bottles; avoid juice boxes/packs (not recyclable or compostable).

Avoid plastic disposables at PTA events.

Reuse notebooks, backpacks or school supplies from last year if possible.

Shop at used clothing stores for back-to-school and save money.

Buy back-to-school supplies with recycled content and avoid PVC notebooks and other supplies.

For shopping tips & resources:  http://www.greenschools.net/backtoschool

Model the 4 R’s at home: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot ( use Green Bin for food & yard waste). Follow the recycling system signs for proper sorting: Recycling, Compost, Trash.

Save Energy

Turn off lights.

Buy energy-saving light bulbs, CFL (compact fluorescent) or LED (light emitting diode).

Turn off computers at night.

Use a switchable power strip to turn off phone chargers/reduce “vampire” loads.

Buy energy efficient appliances.

Save Water

Turn off faucets when you are done and take shorter showers.

Use drip/reduce irrigation.

Toxins

Buy less-toxic products whenever possible, including household cleaning products.

Transportation

Try to walk, bike, or carpool or take the bus or transit to school. For resources on how to be a part of the King Middle School Safe Routes to School efforts, see the County program at http://www.alamedacountysr2s.org/.

More Resources

www.reuseit.com:  A great source for reusable lunch items, plus tips and a video
www.stopwaste.org: Alameda County’s resource on how, what, and where to recycle and more
www.ecologycenter.org: Guidance from Berkeley’s recyclers

 

PTA Goes Green!

To eliminate waste and the need to shop and re-shop for supplies for PTA events, we purchased over the summer goods we will be able to reuse for years to come.

 

Hot and cold beverages will be served in Mason jars. Volunteers pick up jars after events and take them home for washing.

We also purchased inexpensive flatware—a much better alternative to throw-away plastic or expensive compostable products.

 

Beautiful new oilcloth tablecloths for the round tables in the Staff Lounge will brighten up events, clean up easily, and avoid plastic or paper waste.

And two new urns means we will be able to serve hot coffee and tea more economically and with less waste.

 

 

Finally, we will be working with our King Green Team to facilitate recycling and composting at PTA events.