November 2017

Issue #10
The Green Scene Newsletter
School District of Palm Beach County Receives Green District Award!
The School District of Palm Beach County has been designated a Green District by the Florida Green School Awards Program. A total of six school districts in the state are being recognized this year for their work to conserve natural resources, promote sustainability and reduce operating costs. SDPBC, along with the other Green Districts will be recognized at the Florida Healthy School District Symposium held in Orlando, Florida on January 17th, 2018. Awards are determined by the Florida Green School Network, a partnership between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Education, the Florida Department of Health, and Sustainable Florida.
Join us for America Recycles Day!
America Recycles Day is a national initiative of Keep America Beautiful. The annual event is designed to bring awareness to the importance of recycling. Join the District in celebrating this event and take the, " I Recycle Pledge " to show your school's commitment to recycling! It takes only a moment and can be done online, here:  https://americarecyclesday.org/pledge/

Do you want to incorporate recycling and waste reduction into the classroom? There are some great activities that you can do with your students to promote recycling. Feel free to check out the activities here:  https://americarecyclesday.org/toolkits/k-12-schools/. Don't forget to use the hashtag #SDPBCrecycles on Twitter to share photos of your school recycling!

Also, the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County is hosting a free event for the whole family to celebrate America Recycles Day! The event is on Saturday, November 18th from 8am to 12pm. For more information, please click HERE.
Here are some of the latest opportunities to green your school!
Help keep our community clean and Adopt-A-Spot! Choose an area nearby to keep litter free. The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County will provide cleanup supplies for groups who commit to at least 2 cleanup/beautification projects per year.

To Adopt-A-Spot with your school, please fill out the online form.
The Miami Heat is challenging all Florida K-12 schools to find innovative ways to reduce energy consumption at school. Join the competition from November 15, 2017 through March 1, 2018. Try to GO LOW by decreasing your energy use as compared to the same time period last year.  

For registration, prize info and tips on reducing energy use, visit:

To get your school's energy and water usage data, please contact Christina Davis, Utilities Manager.

Green Apple Day of Service is an opportunity to join schools across the world in celebrating the central role that schools play in preparing the next generation of leaders in sustainability. A Green Apple Day of Service is any event that improves the health and safety of the learning environment while strengthening student civic leadership, environmental literacy, and project management skills.

Since it began in 2012, the Day of Service has inspired over 790,000 volunteers in 73 countries to act in support of sustainability at their schools. With one in eight people around the globe attending a school every day, there is more work to be done! Schools and the community leaders who support them can choose their own date for their project, and they have access to mini-grants and personalized guidance to help them make their projects a reality. Sign up to participate at greenapple.org.
Learn Green Institute
The LEARN GREEN INSTITUTE (LGI) is a professional development series designed to increase teacher capacity to establish and improve green initiatives in schools and to support the wider green learning community. It is an initiative of Florida Atlantic University's Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in collaboration with community partners throughout the region. There are only two workshops left in the Fall series, take advantage of this FREE and GREEN professional development opportunity!

For Learn Green Institute questions and registration information, please contact Gregory Goebel at ggoebel@fau.edu or 561-686-6600.
School Sustainability Spotlight
Conniston Middle School: Water for India  
Under the guidance of Teacher, Stephanie Killingsworth, students in Conniston Middle School's International Baccalaureate Program embarked on the ultimate service and learning project--a trip to study water quality in India.

First, students sought to gain an understanding of the lack of clean drinking water across the world. For this, they partnered with a non-profit group called Water for People, whose mission is to promote the development and accessibility of high-quality drinking water and sanitation services.

As part of the first phase of a two-year project, students worked with Water for People to help create sustainable solutions for updating sanitation infrastructure and providing clean water access to townspeople living in rural Indian villages. 
They also learned about local water quality issues facing Florida, which gave them the perspective that water is a global environmental and human health issue.

Next, students took on fundraising for their out-of-country service and learning project, raising a total of $20,000--including a 10k donation to Water for People! For the second phase of the project, in June 2017, ten students and five chaperones traveled overseas to implement the water quality lessons they had learned with Water for People.

Once in India, the team collaborated with a group of students in the city of Agra in order to understand the importance of clean drinking water and learn about the link between accessibility and inadequate, or non-existing infrastructure. By the end of their week long experience, students had a newfound appreciation for water quality and water accessibility. "This trip made me appreciate how good we have it back home and how lucky we are that we don’t have to walk miles to get fresh water," said student traveler, Ethan Whitaker.

To see a video on Conniston Middle School's project, Water for India, please click HERE.
SDPBC Participates in the International Coastal Cleanup
The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is the world's largest, one-day volunteer effort to clean up the marine environment. During the 2016 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), volunteers cleaned up over 18 MILLION pounds of litter from beaches worldwide. What an impact on our oceans! 

Many of this year's cleanups in Palm Beach County had to be rescheduled due to site damage from Hurricane Irma, however that did not deter student volunteers from doing their part to cleanup our beaches! We would like to give a special thank you to the following schools for their participation in the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), which is organized locally through Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful:

  • Atlantic Community High School
  • Boca Raton Community High School
  • Christa McAuliffe Middle School
  • Conniston Middle School
  • Forest Hill Community High School
  • Grassy Waters Elementary School
  • Highland Elementary School
  • John I Leonard Community High School
  • Liberty Park Elementary School
  • Verde Elementary School

"The International Coastal Cleanup event allowed the students to BE the change and feel empowered to make a difference," said Stephanie Killingsworth, Science Department Chair at Conniston Middle School. "It also gave them firsthand experience as to the impact humans have on our planet and the way hurricanes can push floating debris back on shore. In just 2 hours, over 2,500 pounds of trash was collected." 
Florida Agriculture in the Classroom Grant Winners
"Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, (FAITC) is a non-profit organization that develops and trains teachers and agriculture industry volunteers in its agricultural curricula and materials, which they in turn use to educate students about the importance of agriculture.

The FAITC School Garden Mini Grant Program is designed to fund school garden projects that will educate Florida’s students about the importance of agriculture and allow teachers to use a school garden to teach health, science, language arts, math and other subjects."

Congratulations to the following winners!

South Tech Academy - Walter Tanner

Frontier Elementary - Susan McConville

Palmetto Elementary - Mary Kay Westhoven
Grant and Contest Opportunities
Youth Garden Grant
Deadline: December 8th, 2017
The 2018 Youth Garden Grant is an award designed to support school and youth educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life for students and their communities. 


Beneath the Waves Youth Making Ripples Film Competition
Deadline: December 5th, 2017
Students in grades K-12 are invited to submit films of 5 minutes or less on a marine science topic. The film's message can focus on an interesting marine topic, a specific marine-related problem or issue, or a call to action for conservation.


Recycling Is Bigger than the Bin Contest
Deadline: December 15th, 2017
Calling all K-12 student filmmakers and artists! You are invited to participate in these national recycling awareness poster and video contests sponsored by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and JASON Learning. All around us there are items that will not fit into our blue bins. Everything from bicycles to skyscrapers can potentially be recycled, but not in a blue bin. Your challenge is to choose an item that is “bigger than the bin” and find a way to recycle it! 


Walmart Community Grant Program
Deadline: December 31st, 2017
There are eight areas of funding, including: Environmental sustainability. Grants can go toward preventing waste, increasing recycling or supporting other programs that work to improve the environment in the United States.


Captain Planet Foundation's ecoSolution Grant Opens: January 16th, 2018
ecoSolution Grants range from $500-$2,500 and are intended to support solution-oriented, youth-led projects that result in real environmental outcomes. ecoSolution Grants are available to educators working with youth in the United States.


Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission: Environmental Public Service Announcement (Sponsored by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful)
Deadline: January 24th, 2018
Open to Florida high school and college students. Video must be 30 or 60 seconds or less. $1,000 Award! Funds will be awarded to the submitting school. This PSA should address the need to keep millions of pounds of trash from our waterways and ocean and should suggest that people’s everyday choices can help keep our waterways clean.