Please remember that when your school turns in their Green Schools Application on or before March 8^th, 2010 that all applications must include one hard copy and 3 electronic copies on CD’s.

Presented by:  Audio Enhancement

Date:  November 11, 2009

Time:  8:00 AM-3:30 PM

Location:  Pine Jog Elementary School 6315 Summit Blvd. West Palm Beach, Florida

What to expect at this NO-COST event

• A sharing of ideas about how to “green” your school’s day-to-day operations and curriculum, with an emphasis on practical and easily implementable steps
• Exhibits by local non-profit agencies and vendors who offer environmentally-based goods, services, or educational opportunities
• Complimentary continental breakfast and lunch will be served (a special thank you to our sponsors!)
• In service points to all Palm Beach County teachers

Registration for Learn Green: A Green Schools Summit is now closed. 

Event Program

• 2009 Learn Green: A Green Schools Summit Printable Program

Reserve your spot now for one of the following required workshops:

• September 30 at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, West Palm Beach 2-4:30pm
• October 9 at the FAU Jupiter Campus 2-4:30pm
• October 21 at Don Estridge Middle School, Boca Raton 2-4:30pm
• November 11 at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center             9am-11:30

To register or for more information, email kaubry@fau.edu.

St. Juliana was awarded the Green School of Promise.

This program was sponsored by The Environmental Endowment Fund, The Hans and Mary Stratmann Intergenerational Fund and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fund of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The Community Foundation provided a grant to Florida Atlantic University’s Pine Jog Environmental Education Center in West Palm Beach, who organized the program and event.

The Green Schools Recognition Program honored twenty-one schools that have demonstrated their commitment to “greening” their school’s practices and curriculum.  Schools were recognized as being either “Green Schools of Promise,” “Green Schools of Quality” or “Green Schools of Excellence.”

Sacred Heart was awarded the Green School of Promise.

Three schools were recognized as Green Schools of Excellence and received cash awards for demonstrating exceptional leadership as models for implementing green school programs and practices. All cash awards are intended to help these schools continue to grow their “green” projects.  Jupiter High School was recognized as the top ranking Green School in Palm Beach County and received a $2,000 cash award.  The next two schools in the Green Schools ranking were Morikami Park Elementary School and Pine Jog Elementary School, each receiving a $1,000 cash award.

Four schools received Judge’s Choice awards of $500 each.  The Judge’s Choice winners were Jupiter Middle School, St. Andrews School, Don Estridge Middle School and Palm Beach Day Academy.  Two of the Judge’s Choice awards were made possible by the Audubon Society of the Everglades and the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County.

Jupiter Middle was awarded the Green School of Quality as well as a $500 Judge's Choice Award.

Please see our front page for a full list of the 2009 honorees.

In addition to the Green Schools, other integral organizations and persons, who helped make The Green School Recognition Program possible, attended the Green School Luncheon. First, the Green School Steering Committee, a dedicated group of people who helped guide and conceptualize the Green School Recognition Program were present and recognized. Additionally, Green School Judges were thanked at the luncheon for the valuable time they spent reviewing and scoring all the applications. The Audubon Society of the Everglades and the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County were also graciously thanked for their cash donations of $500 each that made two of our Judge’s Choice Awards possible. Lastly, special guests such as board members from the Community Foundation and Pine Jog Environmental Education Center were honored.

The collaborative efforts and hard work from the Green Schools and community organizations prove that The Green Schools Recognition Program’s mission of encouraging schools to create cultures of sustainability within their communities is a reality in Palm Beach County. And that was certainly something worth celebrating!

School Representatives at Luncheon.

The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties

Since 1972, The Community Foundation has granted over $4.5 million in scholarships to over 1,200 students and $74 million to nonprofit organizations in the community. The Foundation accepts contributions in support of community initiatives, special projects and permanent endowment. Income from endowment is used to make grants and award scholarships primarily in Palm Beach and Martin counties. To learn more, please visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org.

The Audubon Society of the Everglades

The Audubon Society of the Everglades generously donated $500, which was used as a Judge Choice Prize during the luncheon.  The Palm Beach County’s Audubon Society of the Everglades has been active since the 1950s and promotes the conservation of wildlife and the environment to aide human ecological understanding of our place in the world. The Audubon Society offers field trips, monthly meetings, and many other recreational and educational opportunities. To learn more about the Audubon Society of the Everglades, please visit their website at http://www.auduboneverglades.org/ .

Solid Waste Authority

The Solid Waste Authority provided a $500 cash donation to be used as a Judges Choice Prize during the luncheon. Additionally, The Solid Waste Authority has generously committed $1,000 to the program’s Green Seeds of Change initiative which allows schools to apply for up to $250 to support a specific green project at their school.  The Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County is a governmental agency in charge of a solid waste management system that is economically and environmentally conscious for Palm Beach County’s 1.4 million residents and businesses. To read more about the Solid Waste Authority, please visit their website at http://www.swa.org/site/about_swa.htm.

Sandy James Fine Food Productions

The Sandy James Fine Food Productions provided the delicious “green” lunch for the ceremony.  They really went all out to make the lunch as green as possible - finding all locally grown, organically raised ingredients to provide a delectable salad and sherbet desert.  Sandy James Fine Food Productions has the local knowledge, creativity, experience and professional staff to create delicious food and successful service for a variety of events. To find out more about Sandy James Fine Food Production, please visit their website at http://www.sandyjames.net/ or call them at 561-366-0012.

Reduce your school’s carbon footprint by participating in the Equal Exchange Fair Trade Fundraising & Education Program! Raise valuable funds for important school activities, while at the same time teaching kids about where their food comes from, about sustainable and organic farming practices, and what Fair Trade really means.

Equal Exchange has been a Fair Trade organization for 22 years, building long-term relationships with small-scale organic farmer cooperatives all around the globe. The farmers we work with raise shade-grown, organic crops of coffee, tea, cocoa, nuts and berries, that use less carbon than conventional farms because they rely on the hand-care of farmers more than petroleum based machines and fertilizers. Our farmer partners practice crop diversification that actually sequesters carbon into the soil, acting to cool the planet.

As a part of the program, Equal Exchange offers educational tools that include a dynamic curriculum (grades 4-9) about Fair Trade, cooperative economics, and where our food comes from, as well as a Spanish pen pal program, and in-school assemblies.

To request information please contact Ruthie Oland at 774.776.7384/ fundraiser1@equalexchange.coop, or request a fundraiser packet at www.equalexchange.coop/fundraiser

Click here for the forum.

You can view the board as a guest but please sign up to access the full forum.

Please click here for the 2008 Workshop presentation (pdf)

It is also available on the resources page.

Thank you for your participation in the workshop and we are excited to see what your schools can accomplish this year!

• Tuesday September 16th at Palm Beach Community College’s Glades Campus
  • 2 pm- 4:30 pm
  • Room CRA 203

• Thursday September 18th at Florida Atlantic University’s Jupiter Campus
  • 2 pm- 4:30 pm
  • Education Building Room 101

• Thursday September 25th at Don Estridge High Tech Middle School
  • 2 pm- 4:30 pm
  • Media Center

• Saturday September 27 at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center
  • 9 am- 11:30 am
  • Room 101

Other dates and locations TBA.

• February 27, 2009: Applications are due.
• April 6, 2009: Announcements for recognition will be sent to schools.
• April 21, 2009: Awards Ceremony at the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties.