School Green Team: count me in!

Last year, my oldest child started kindergarten and thus we entered elementary school. While she thrived from the get-go, it took me a while to get my bearings and feel like I fit in. Part of it was the largeness compared to being in a tiny cooperative preschool where you do a lot of volunteer work on a regular basis. Also the policies and procedures that regulate a public school make it seem a bit more impersonal. In any case, I got cornered at one of our first "get to know you" functions, and was asked to be on the school's Green Team. It sounded like an important job, so I agreed. As it turned out, the Green Team didn't really coalesce last year, and let me tell you, I was kind of relieved about that. I feel like I still have one foot firmly planted in the cooperative preschool where my younger daughter now goes, and one foot in the elementary school classroom. I didn't feel I had the bandwidth to do much more volunteer work.

So here we are at another school year. The good news is I'm ready to invest more time in our elementary school's green efforts. We had a great turnout at our first meeting with three faculty members attending, and at least half a dozen parents. Our school, Rieke Elementary, is considered an Oregon Green School. This year's Green Team is super motivated and has some exciting projects planned for the year:

• We kicked off the year by posting signs by all classroom and bathroom sinks, and water fountains to remind the kids to conserve water
• I've seen a few signs by classroom sinks that encourage limited use of soap with the catchy saying: "One Squirt for Germs and Dirt."
• A campaign with baby steps to get the majority of families packing waste-free lunches
• An art project where the kids will make their own cloth napkins for snack or lunch-box use
• Applying for a grant to get more veggies on the school lunch menu
• Including weekly green tips in the school newsletter

If there's any downside, it's that change is slow. As with most public schools, much is decided on a district level, so we may not be able to effect positive change in several areas. Also, money is always tight and often there are many reasons that great ideas don't even get a chance to fly. For example: our school cafeteria uses disposable polystyrene trays instead of durables, and unfortunately has no way to wash durables were we to find a way to purchase them, further complicated by plumbing issues. So close and yet so far.

Overall, I'm excited. Our school's Green Team will focus on what we can do, and not get stuck on areas we cannot impact. Over at the preschool, we were able to become Eco-Healthy Certified thanks to many parents' effort to green our co-op over the past year. So I have high hopes for what we can do at our larger elementary school this year, and into the future.

Do you participate in your school's efforts to go green? What are your school's best accomplishments, and what is your school green team working on now?