Redmond Elementary School Green Team

Mission statement: Our mission as Redmond elementary school's green team is to inspire and empower our school community to live more sustainably and protect our planet. We aim to promote eco-conscious habits and behaviors, reduce waste and energy consumption, and create a healthier and cleaner environment for ourselves and future generations. Through education, advocacy, and action, we strive to create a culture of sustainability that celebrates and preserves the natural world around us. 

Achieving Level 1 Green School Status: A Sustainable Journey

Redmond Elementary School has proudly achieved the Level 1 Green School status through the King County Green School Program¹. This prestigious recognition is a testament to our commitment to environmental stewardship and our collective efforts in waste reduction and recycling.  

Our student team also received recognition for their creative efforts in reducing waste production throughout this school year. During the year, our students created videos that were shared with their peers during lunch, volunteered as lunchmonitors during lunch recess to educate our school community about proper sorting of waste, gave presentations in their classrooms to raise environmental awareness among their peers, shared ideas about recycling during school's science fair and staged a play during international night to discuss reducing, reusing resources, and planting more trees in Redmond Elementary style.  

Students interested to be part of the Green team for the school year 2024-25 need to fill out the application form. 

How can you help? 

• Consider joining lunch-monitoring programs. 
• Are you good in writing and identifying grants? Email sustainability@redmondelptsa.org for more information. 
• Join Student Green Team positions. 
• Microsoft employees to donate via the Microsoft Give program to get their donations matched. 

Upcoming Events: 

Green Team Application for School Year 2024-25

Student volunteer for Lunch monitoring: We are looking for student lunch-monitoring volunteers. Lunch monitors help the school recycle, and compost correctly after lunch. Keeping our recycle bins contamination free will help us achieve the Green School Level one recognition. 

Student led presentation for classrooms: We are seeking out students who are interested in giving presentations to other classrooms on the following topics:  a) Why do we recycle and how to recycle correctly? b) Common myths around recycling and composting. c) What goes into a compost bin and its benefits. d) Any recycling project of your choice.  

Past Events: 

• Book Swap Event: We collected books from the community. Thank you to everyone who contributed, participated, and volunteered for this event. A special shoutout to our event sponsor, Half Price Books, Redmond. Our efforts led us to share over 600 books and helped us achieve our goal of providing one book for every student for their summer reading
• End of the school Green Team party: We wrapped up our last meeting with a delicious salad party and shared all the fun we’ve had this school year. Our grow tower is full of produce, and picking greens to mix with berries and cherries was a hit! We’re super proud of everything we’ve done, and it was great hearing all the students’ ideas for next year.
• Lunch Monitor Appreciation party: Big thanks to everyone who helped out as lunch monitors. Your hard work didn’t go unnoticed, and we celebrated with a cool party where everyone enjoyed yummy popsicles and frozen yogurt!
• Walk to School Event: On May 17th, we had a super cool Walk to School Event. Guess what? The Mayor of Redmond, Mayor Birney, and Councilman Osman joined us! Plus, our very own students, staff, and families made it a day to remember with their enthusiasm, handmade road safety banner.  Go, Redmond Elementary! A big shout out to all our event partners for making this possible. 
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• Ridwell Plastic collection: A round of applause for Yoni, our parent volunteer, who rocked the Ridwell Plastic Film pickup. Thanks to Yoni, we’re recycling champs! 

• Earth Day Week: Aprill 22 - April 26 were loaded with activities to celebrate the Earth Day Week Redmond Hawk style. 

• Lunch monitoring: Parent volunteers actively participate in the Lunch Monitoring Program, ensuring the proper maintenance of our compost and recycling bins to prevent contamination. Additionally, they provide support to student volunteers, empowering them to assume leadership roles and eventually run this program independently in the future.
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• During March, our school had the privilege of welcoming a program coordinator from the King Conservation District. This insightful visit included an engaging discussion on the importance of soil health, highlighting the vital role it plays in our ecosystem. Additionally, our students were presented with a hands-on learning opportunity, allowing them to collect soil samples from our school garden. These samples were then used to conduct soil testing, further enriching our students’ understanding of environmental science and stewardship. 

• Science Fair. We are thrilled to report the success of our school’s Green Team in their recent sustainability showcase at Science Fair. These dedicated students presented a variety of projects that brought the concepts of recycling, reusing, and upcycling to life. They ingeniously showcased a project by a fellow City of Redmond resident to repurposed empty glass jars into miniature greenhouses, providing a tangible demonstration of the greenhouse effect. Their recycled paper and recycled paper bloom seed cards were a hit, offering a beautiful and practical way to see upcycling in action.

  The highlight was an interactive game created by the Green Team, which educated fellow students on the importance of proper waste sorting and the meaning behind bin colors. This hands-on approach not only makes learning fun but also instills important values of environmental responsibility and left a last impression on all who participated.

   

  We commend our students for their creativity and commitment to promoting sustainability within our school. Their efforts have not only enriched our community but also set a precedent for future environmental initiatives.

• In the month of February, our school hosted Recycling Expert, from the City of Redmond, for a lunchtime presentation on recycling, composting, sorting of trash, and waste reduction during our lunchtime session. Our students greatly benefited from the practical insights and hands-on demonstrations. The representative’s passion for environmental sustainability was truly inspiring and has motivated our students to be more conscious about their waste disposal habits. We believe that the knowledge gained from this session will go a long way in shaping our students into responsible citizens who are mindful of their environmental footprint. Once again, we extend our sincere thanks to the City of Redmond representative for their valuable time and effort. Let’s all strive to make our school, city, and planet a cleaner and greener place to live!

Fall 2023 

• Lunch monitoring: Parent volunteers participated in Lunch monitoring program to keep our compost and recycling bins contamination free.

• Visual posters: Our students have created visual posters as We are trying to educate our school community how to recycle and compost correctly. We used commonly found trash, recycled materials, and pictures of compostable waste found in school lunch, to make colorful and creative posters.
• Grow towers: In our December Green Team meeting, we learned about aeroponic gardening and grow towers. Grow towers are a great option when you have limited garden space. We also voted for what kind of produce we want to plant. Watermelon, lettuce, spinach, cilantro, mint, and cherry tomatoes were some of the winners. We will have a salad party as the end-of-school year celebration in June.
• SchoolPool program: 171 students participated in the city of Redmond's SchoolPool program by walking, biking, and carpooling to the school. Your participation generated funds for the PTSA.

Spring 2023 

• Student Green Team received recognition from King County's Green School Program for their actions to conserve and protect the environment. You can find more information about the program on the KCGS website.
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• Earth Day celebration: Our students participated in campus cleanup.