Green Team

Beye Green Team News:

BEYE GREEN TEAM’S GOALS ARE TO . . . 

  • Create opportunities for reducing waste of all kinds, thereby reducing Beye’s operational costs and optimizing the ecological efficiency and environmental soundness of the school facility itself. Some waste-reduction programs include (but are not limited to) optimized recycling and reuse of solid waste and water, and large-scale food scrap composting.
  • Develop green programs aimed at building student, family, staff, school-community, and even Oak Park community awareness about relevant environmental themes that build stewardship — i.e., respect and responsibility for shared resources in our community and in our world.
  • Work with appropriate groups (other PTO subcommittees, staff, etc), whenever possible, to support all students’ optimal learning with initiatives that promote a healthy school environment — e.g., high indoor air quality and nutrition-friendly programming for healthy brains and bodies.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Green Team is always open to — and appreciative of — your ideas, support and partnership in helping Beye continue to be a green school. Here’s what’s happening in Beye Green!

  • Beye’s NEXT WASTE-FREE-WEDNESDAY is Wed, Jan 25 at all lunch periods. All students and staff are encouraged to participate in these monthly contests. The winning classroom gets the opportunity to display a recycled glass trophy for the month, and to receive PAW passes for all students.  But we ALL win as we get better at being a zero waste school, and families packing zero waste cold lunches can win by saving up to $300 per school year! For more info see our Waste-Free Wednesday page.
    Beye Green Team’s next meeting is Thurs 1/26 from 7-9P at Lake St. Kitchen and Bar. Please join us! We’ll be assessing the first half of the school year, and planning for Earth Month (April) and more.
  • Beye Green needs helping hands! To volunteer to be a part of the change-making fun, email Ana at beyegreen@gmail.com with your name, child & teacher name/s, and any special skills you have to lend to green team work (budgeting, graphic design, web publishing, training, sales, etc).
  • Read about Beye’s winning a 2011 Environmental Hero award from IL Gov. Pat Quinn, about our participation in the Chicago Green Festival and the OPRF Green Bike Tour, and other newsworthy Beye Green notes on our green press page.
  • Check out the green resources page for helpful links to sustainability-related articles, events & multimedia.
  • Email green team at beyegreen@gmail.com

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

About Beye Green

W. BEYE ELEMENTARY IS A GREEN SCHOOL that is in its 4th year of zero waste programs. Beye has received more than $20,000 in zero waste schools funding, is part of the D97 Zero Waste schools district (which has received more than $100,000 in zero waste funding), and has won one of just ten 2011 Environmental Hero Awards from IL Governor Pat Quinn last April.

*WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT BEYE IS A GREEN SCHOOL? . . . In the 2010-2011 school year, Beye diverted almost 3,600 lbs of compostable food waste (fruits/veggies) and almost 6,000 lbs of liquids (mostly milk) from landfill. In the first half of the 2011-2012 school year, Beye has diverted more than a half-ton of compostable food waste. To support this, we have received tens of thousands of dollars since 2009 to purchase large-scale composters (see them behind the playground!) – as well as our sorting station, industrial dishwasher, and lunchroom and classroom reusables (trays, utensils, etc in the commons – come by and take a look at these during any lunch period!). All students are asked to sort their lunchroom waste (this is a requirement for our grant commitments), and many have become true leaders in sorting waste and thinking about ways the Beye community can reduce waste on all levels. Watch this 2-part YouTube video to learn about sorting and our sorting stations. Watch this video for some background on Beye Green – right from some Beye Green Student Ambassadors and other students (taken from a video submission to a green school contest from a few years ago).

*WHY GREEN SCHOOLS? Beye’s green programs aim to divert more than 90% of solid waste from landfills, as well as to build student and school-community awareness/involvement about relevant environmental themes, from the viewpoints of both cost (money saving!) and stewardship (respect and responsibility for community, our world, and our resources). Beye also aims to work with relevant committees and groups when possible to help support optimal learning for all students by supporting healthy learning environments (high indoor air quality, good nutrition, etc). Learn more about green schools here and here.

*WHAT IS/WHY ZERO WASTE? (<<Click to learn more.)

*HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED? Beye Green needs hands! To be part of the change-making, money-saving happenings at Beye Green, email Ana at beyegreen@gmail.com w your name, child & teacher name/s, and any special skills you have to lend to green team work (budgeting, graphic design, web publishing, training, sales, etc).

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

What YOU Can Do! . . . Help us keep the momentum going by making Earth Day everyday:

  • Volunteer for the Beye Green Team!
  • Participate in monthly Waste Free Wednesday lunches
  • Remember to use both sides of a sheet of paper before recycling it in a blue bin at school
  • Think about REUSING something if possible before you recycle and/or throw it away
  • Think “how can I do this GREENER” - no matter what you are doing at school
  • Walk & Bike to School and wherever, whenever we can.
  • If driving, don’t idle! The Village of Oak Park supports No Idling. Click here see the Oak Park Environmental & Energy Advisory Commission’s ”Idling Gets You Nowhere” Public Service Announcement. Click here to see the “Idling Gets you Nowhere Rap” by students at Oak Park’s Whittier Elementary.
  • Share your ideas for keeping Beye green or making it even greener by emailing the parents of the Beye Green Team at beyegreen@gmail.com
  • Want to know more about Zero Waste in the context of schools? Click here to find out why it’s important.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Green Team Meeting Info:

*Our next meeting is Thurs 1/26/12, 7-9P at Lake Street Kitchen & Bar

All are welcome! We’re seeking many hands to help keep Beye Green marching forward. If you’d like to attend the next meeting, or want to volunteer for Beye Green, email beyegreen@gmail.com.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Beye Green Survey Reflects Community Attitudes & Wishes

At the end of our first year in Beye Green, we took the “green temperature” of the Beye Community as a benchmark of attitudes, behaviors, and wishes surrounding environmental topics at our school. Here are the results of the Beye Green Survey Spring 2009

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Questions, Comments, or Ideas for the Green Team?

For questions or input, or to volunteer (we could always use more helping hands!), please contact the Green Team at beyegreen@gmail.com.