Saturday was a true success! Katherine de Poo, a member of the community, with vast experience in organic gardening, Danielle Gould, 2nd grade teacher and Green Team Club Leader, and Dawn Vincent, a parent at Mary Immaculate School, worked together to organize what will be an organic garden for the school. With the weather cooperating, several volunteers came out to help build 12 garden beds. There were children, parents, teachers, members of the community, as well as Father John and the Sisters working until the job was completed!
Some carried cement blocks in their hands, others pulled them on a dolly, and the Sisters balanced them on their heads. One way or another, all 216 blocks were carried to their destination. Twelve garden beds were constructed and leveled. Each bed received numerous layers of paper or cardboard as a base including the 432 holes in the cement blocks. Nutrient rich “jungle mix” soil was brought wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow until every bed was full.
Each class, from PreK-3 to 8th grade plus one extra for the Sisters, will have their own garden. We owe a great deal of thanks to the Cub Scouts and Latitude 24 Recycling for their generous donations which helped make this idea a reality. Also, a big thank you to all the volunteers who spent their Saturday morning working for this cause. And finally, it has been a pleasure to help Katherine de Poo turn her dream into an actuality!
In early November, The Green Team took a field trip to deliver cell phone drop boxes and to post notices telling community members where to take unwanted cell phones.Cell phone drop boxes are now located at Mattheessens 4th of July and Stay Fit Studio, as well as the MISS front office.Cell phones can be used, and working.In a few months, the boxes will be collected and sent to Absolute Recycling, a company that sends off the working cell phones to people in need, or, they will be recycled properly.In addition, The Green Team receives a small stipend per cell phone.Please spread the word about where your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and you can responsibly dispose of unwanted cell phones.
Please stop by the R4 Fair (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Rot) Saturday, November 14, 12:00 – 3:00, at the Key West High School.The Green Team will hold a bake sale exhibiting as little waste as possible, while selling baked goods.There’s a lot to do and see, including a “kids swap”.Kids can bring toys, books, and clothing to barter and trade with other kids.Check out the following website for more information:
The Green Team is an after school club geared toward helping the environment. Students in this club are interested in “going green”. We concentrate on getting educated, spreading the word and then taking action. This club is active and interactive. The students participate in science experiments, online research, discussions, gardening, involvement in the school’s move toward recycling, as well as community outreach.
The Green Team will have meetings on Thursday from approximately 3:00 – 4:00 at Mary Immaculate School with Danielle Gould. (This first meeting on Sept 9th will be on Wednesday but will resume to Thursdays the following week) Your child must have a signed Internet Agreement form in order to participate. I recommend that you send a snack and drink for your child to have immediately after school. Please meet your child at the back of the school for pick-up. Permission Slips are available in the front office.
Students who join The Green Team will be asked to LEAD by example:
Please consider the following when cleaning out your child’s used school supplies at the end of this year. First, you could donate them back to the school for the summer camp; second, you could donate them back to the school for next year’s art enrichment program; or third, you can check out crazycrayons.com and recycle your crayons with them. They also sell their recycled crayons that are packaged in earth-friendly wrappings.
Last chance to turn in your unwanted cell phones. The phones will be shipped at the end of the school year to absoluterecycling.com and will go to a worthy cause.”
The Green Team’s first community project for school year 2009 – 2010, is on September 19, 2009.
Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup
On September 20, 2008:
6,800,000 pounds of trash collected
11,400,000 items removed, including the top three:
3,200,000 cigarette butts
1,400,000 plastic bags
943,000 food wrappers/containers
390,881 volunteers 6,485 sites in 104 countries and locations
The Monroe County Environmental Education Advisory Council is accepting nominations for its seventh annual Environmental Education Teacher Award. Nominees must hold a teaching certificate and teach in a private or public school in the county.
The award identifies outstanding teachers who use the environment as an integrating context for teaching. One teacher each of grade K-5 and 6-12 is selected annually for this honor. Nominees don’t have to submit paperwork. The winners get a plaque recognizing their work and $300 in cash.
We would like to nominate our second grade teacher, Danielle Gould for this honor.
Please help us nominate our Green Team Teacher here at Mary Immaculate.
Nominations can be emailed to Helen Crockett at: tpbal@bellsouth.net
or mailed to:
Monroe County Environmental Education Advisory Council,
Attn: EE Teacher of the Year Award
P.O.Box 431656
Big Pine, FL 33043
Must be postmarked by May 4. Award winners will be announced in June.
