Press Release

Press Release  Massachusetts Environmental Officials Present ‘Green Team’ Awards to Massachusetts Schools

MassDEP Recognizes Young Environmental Stewardship Educational Activities
For immediate release:
6/21/2019
  • Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

Media Contact   for Massachusetts Environmental Officials Present ‘Green Team’ Awards to Massachusetts Schools

Joseph Ferson, Public Affairs Office

BOSTONState environmental officials today recognized students from 72 schools across the Commonwealth for outstanding environmental actions as members of the “Green Team,” a statewide environmental education program sponsored by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

“Congratulations to the teachers and students who participated in the Green Team program during the past school year, showing that there’s a new generation of enthusiasm and environmental leadership in Massachusetts communities,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “Participation in Green Team activities is an important educational foundation that helps students take action to protect our natural resources, and brings to life the subjects they are learning in school.”

Students of any age can participate in the Green Team program, an initiative composed of students who share the goals of reducing pollution and protecting the environment. More than 82,000 students in 351 classes at 322 schools joined the Green Team this school year.

Students took part in a range of activities, including:

  • Expanding school recycling programs;
  • Collecting textiles for donation and recycling;
  • Starting a compost pile using organic waste from the school cafeteria, and using the compost it generates to nourish a garden to grow vegetables;
  • Making their school driveways “Idle-Free Zones”;
  • Increasing energy efficiency in their schools and communities; and
  • Reducing their carbon footprint at school and at home.

These activities incorporated classroom disciplines from the fields of science, engineering and mathematics to reading, writing and art, as well as other non-classroom, interrelated projects.

“Green Team students learn environmental stewardship, bringing energy conservation, recycling, composting and pollution prevention projects to our schools and communities,” said MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg. “Green Team members work to have a positive impact on our environment and to make their communities more sustainable.”

Participating teachers received a Green Team Kit containing classroom posters, lesson plans, recycling tips and access to a library of other resources. In addition, 51 schools received recycling equipment from the Green Team to initiate or expand school recycling programs. Fifteen schools received signs reading “Idle-Free Zone” from the Green Team that serve as a visual reminder to drivers to turn off their engines while waiting in the schoolyard.

Participating classes were entered into a drawing for prizes, and 72 classes received prizes for their efforts (full listing below). Seventeen schools won grand prizes, and will receive schoolwide performances by environmental educators Jack Golden and Peter O’Malley, or gift cards to local garden centers for trees or garden supplies to further “green” their schools.

To learn more or to participate in the 2019-20 school year, the 18th year for the Green Team, teachers may sign up online here.

The following are the Green Team prize winners:

 

School Name

Community

Teacher

Green Team Prize

James Clark Elementary School

Agawam

Tammy Rumplik

Garden Supplies

Amesbury Elementary School

Amesbury

Bruce McBrien

Garden Supplies

Thompson Elementary School

Arlington

Elizabeth Rocco

Recycling Show

Oakmont Regional High School

Ashburnham

Alana Archangelo

Garden Supplies

Swift River Elementary School

Belchertown

Cindy Fournier

Garden Supplies

Ellison Parks Early Education Center

Boston

Donnie Lucente

Recycling Show

Andrew Peabody School

Cambridge

Leslie Williams-Dunn

Recycling Show

Mount Alvernia Academy

Chestnut Hill

Maria Lyons

Recycling Show

Agawam Junior High School

Feeding Hills

Sandee Johnson

Recycling Show

Lt. Clayre P. Sullivan Elementary School

Holyoke

Rick Haggerty

Recycling Show

Robert Frost Middle School

Lawrence

Paul Flanigan

Garden Supplies

Bartlett Community Partnership School

Lowell

Joanne Downing

Recycling Show

Manchester Essex Regional Middle/High School

Manchester

Keith Gray

Garden Supplies

South Shore Natural Science Center Preschool

Norwell

Diane Thureson

Recycling Show

Captain Samuel Brown School

Peabody

Diane Bugler

Garden Supplies

Joseph G. Luther Elementary School

Swansea

Scott Sunaz-Lods & Lindsay Poirier

Garden Supplies

Rose L. MacDonald School

West Bridgewater

Jeremy Dempsey

Recycling Show

Youth Center Inc.

Adams

Amber LaFogg

Wristbands

Brackett Elementary School

Arlington

Rachel Oliveri

Seeded Bookmarks

John A. Bishop Elementary School

Arlington

Jennifer Davidson-Jardeleza

Seeded Bookmarks

Stratton Elementary School

Arlington

Katherine Whang

Wristbands

Boston Latin Academy

Boston

Kara Stafford

Wristbands

Boylston Elementary School

Boylston

Nicole Avery

Wristbands

John D. Runkle Elementary School

Brookline

Tanya Paris

Compost Activity Books

Marshall Simonds Middle School

Burlington

Jane Lynch

Information wheels

Hoosac Valley Middle and High School

Cheshire

Lindsay McGinnis

Recycled Tire Key Rings

Cohasset High School

Cohasset

Peter Afanasiw

Wristbands

Joseph Lee School

Dorchester

Alice Daly

Wristbands

St. John Paul II Catholic Academy

Dorchester

Emily Gaylord

Recycling Information Wheels

Dante Alighieri Montessori School

East Boston

Teresa Strong

Wristbands

Sandwich STEM Academy

East Sandwich

Amy Ferreira

Information wheels

Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School

Easthampton

Meghan Siudzinski

Wristbands

Crocker Elementary School

Fitchburg

Ron Becker

Recycling Information Wheels

Fitchburg High School

Fitchburg

Heather Root

Compost Information Wheels

South Street Elementary School

Fitchburg

Chip Tourigny

Wristbands

Vincent M. Igo Elementary School

Foxborough

Brian Beckenstein

Recycling Information Wheels

Academy of Early Learning

Greenfield

Jennie Horton

Compost Activity Books

Newton Elementary School

Greenfield

Miriam Robinson

Wristbands

Hancock Elementary School

Hancock

Brian Keller

Wristbands

Holyoke High School

Holyoke

Robert Frye

Wristbands

Hopedale Memorial School

Hopedale

Jane LeClaire

Wristbands

Memorial Middle School

Hull

Heather Weber

Wristbands

Johnny Appleseed School

Leominster

Brigid Gilchrist

Wristbands

Kathryn P. Stoklosa Middle School

Lowell

Elinor Sadlier

Seeded Bookmarks

St. Patrick School

Lowell

Margie O'Donnell

Wristbands

Beebe School

Malden

Michelle Corbett

Wristbands

St. Mary's Catholic School

Mansfield

Regan Haney

Recycling Information Wheels

Elizabeth Carter Brooks Elementary School

New Bedford

Kelly Keaton

Compost Activity Books

Greater New Bedford Vocational Tech. High School

New Bedford

Christopher Pires & Lawrence Carlesi

Wristbands

Mason Rice Elementary School

Newton

Heather Friedman

Wristbands

Underwood Elementary School

Newton

Andy Gluck

Wristbands

Pvt. Albert E. Thomson Elementary School

North Andover

Nicole Radulski

Wristbands

L. G. Nourse Elementary School

Norton

Nancy Grant

Compost Activity Books

Norwell Middle School

Norwell

Christina Bailey

Wristbands

Norwood High School

Norwood

Allison Leichtman

Wristbands

Norwood Montessori School

Norwood

Tamiko Porter

Wristbands

Taconic High School

Pittsfield

Tanya Michaud

Wristbands

Atherton Hough Elementary School

Quincy

Teresa Quinton

Wristbands

Rockport Middle/High School

Rockport

Robert Allia

Wristbands

Salem Early Childhood Center

Salem

Rachael Lord

Compost Activity Books

Witchcraft Heights Elementary School

Salem

Kelly Cronin

Compost Information Wheels

George R. Martin Elementary School

Seekonk

Corinne Carvalho

Wristbands

Seekonk High School

Seekonk

Angela Cunard

Compost Information Wheels

Albert S. Woodward Memorial School

Southborough

Mary Ellen Duggan

Wristbands

The Grow School

Southbridge

Martha Burkett

Information Wheels

Robert F Kennedy Childrens Action Corps - RFK Academy

Springfield

Joanna Heron-Forge't

Wristbands

Swampscott Middle School

Swampscott

Margarett Ardman

Information wheels

Uxbridge High School

Uxbridge

Lisa Struppa

Wristbands

Whitin Intermediate School

Uxbridge

Mary Ellen Jansson

Recycling Information Wheels

James Fitzgerald Elementary School

Waltham

Marisa McNally

Seeded Bookmarks

Loker Elementary School

Wayland

Anne Johnson

Wristbands

Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School

Worcester

Jill Thibodeau

Information wheels

 

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Media Contact   for Massachusetts Environmental Officials Present ‘Green Team’ Awards to Massachusetts Schools

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