- Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Media Contact for Massachusetts Environmental Officials Present ‘Green Team’ Awards to Massachusetts Schools
Joseph Ferson, Public Affairs Office
BOSTON — State 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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