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As another school year comes to a close, we are excited to share resources that encourage students, educators and administrators to reduce waste at home and in school. We also hope you are finding opportunities on how to get creative with your students on what to reuse and setting new goals for waste reduction this fall. In this newsletter, we cover ways that the Office of Sustainability (OOS) can partner with you and your school as you wrap up this academic calendar year and start planning for the next.
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The Schools Program team from left to right:
Gerald Schwartz, Collette Sanchez, Kamille Lang, Esme Cabrera
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Wondering What Goes Where at the End of the School Year?
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The Office of Sustainability is here to help answer your questions on what goes where! Sorting is always tricky, especially with the influx of items that you may find in your classroom or school site at the end of the school year. Explore our resources below to navigate what goes where. If you have questions or would like more support, you can always contact us at sustainability@smcgov.org or call our hotline: (888) 442-2666
- Search Engine for Where to Recycle What (RecycleStuff.org)
- Office of Sustainability Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Guide
- Donate unused or otherwise in working condition classroom supplies to a local nonprofits like RAFT (Resource Area for Teaching). You can also participate in RAFT's program when looking for supplies in the fall too!
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If you are interested in having our staff assist your school or class with the following activities and events this coming up fall semester, please do not hesitate to contact us at smcsustainability@smcgov.org.
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Worm Composting Workshops: During our worm composting (vermicomposting) workshops students observe a live worm bin and learn about the importance of worms creating healthy soil for the Earth. They also come face to face with red wigglers and learn about their physiology and the do’s and do not's of feeding food scraps to these spectacular creatures. Learning about worms and vermicomposting is fantastic for all ages. This school year our staff worked with middle schoolers and preschoolers. We even helped one class adopt a worm bin during their workshop.
Assembly Presentations and Bin Monitoring: Our staff is here to inspire students to reduce waste by practicing the 4R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot-Compost on their school campus and at home. We did just that in April, by facilitating virtual grade level Earth Day assemblies at Burlingame Intermediate School that reached out to approximately 1,000 students. Additionally, after the assemblies we surveyed students and took their advice. We returned to the school in person and worked with student volunteers monitoring their tri-bin station to reinforce what type of waste goes into the recycling, compost, and landfill bin.
Staffing Environmental Fairs: If your school is planning a schoolwide environmental fair or similar event, we can help you. For example, in April, we joined PandaFest at College Park Elementary School for Earth Month! Attendees of all ages were able to learn about vermicomposting by investigating real live red wiggler worms and discuss the waste diversion system by playing our 4R’s board games!
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4R's Green Star in Action:
Ethan Hau
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The Schools Program team recently had the pleasure of meeting Ethan Hua, an 8th grade student at Bayside Academy in San Mateo. Ethan is the creator of a school uniform donation and re-use organization named H.O.P.E., Help Our Planet Earth Uniforms Program.
Growing up, Ethan wondered what happened to the school uniforms he outgrew every year. Were they reused, recycled or landfilled? At the same time, Ethan was becoming increasingly aware about the many environmental problems we face. Very soon, Ethan would see a direct connection between the two as an opportunity to take action and help his community. With lots of family, community support, vision and hard work, H.O.P.E. was born.
Since 2020, H.O.P.E. has received over 1,700 donated articles of clothing and donated over 900 of these back to the community in five schools where student uniforms are required in the San Mateo Foster City School District.
For more information about this organization and to learn how to bring this to your school, please visit: www.hopeuniformsprogram.com
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Summer S.T.E.M. Series with SMC Libraries
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The Office of Sustainability is teaming up with San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) educators on how to use our STEM Reuse Kits. The objective of these kits is to have students explore how to reuse everyday items to invent and create something new. Through this training, SMCL educators will be prepared on how to facilitate the following interactive projects to middle schoolers through their summer STEM Series program:
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Bottle Cap Art: Collecting Small to Create Big
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CD Spinners: Turning Obsolescence into Exploration, Innovation and Empowerment
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Recycled Papermaking: Sending Notes of Biodiversity to Our Local Environment
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Solar Oven: Capturing and Transferring Solar Energy
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T-Shirt to Totes (and Toys): Rethinking Fast Fashion
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4R’s Games: Waste Diversion Systems at Work Today
If you are interested in booking the same workshops for your school or district or you would like to borrow our kits with lesson plans for your classroom this fall semester, please let us know at smcsustainability@smcgov.org.
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Additional School Resources
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The Office of Sustainability offers two other youth programs for those in San Mateo County. Read below or explore our new Climate Change - Youth Programs website to learn about these programs and how to bring these opportunities to your students next fall.
Youth Exploring Climate Science (previously YESS Program):
Grade band: 7th-12th grade
Overview: FREE unique interactive guest speaker opportunities with a place-based and equity focus to discuss climate science generally or options to dive in deeper to causes and impacts of sea level rise or wildfire. Program developed in partnership with San Mateo County Parks to offer a virtual or in person guest speaker to your classroom and one virtual or in person San Mateo County park field trip. Field trips will include several climate action activities that help students understand human impacts on the climate and discuss climate action solutions for the future. Book your guest speaker visit and field trip today! Learn more here or email program lead, Kamille Lang at: klang1@smcgov.org
Youth Climate Ambassadors (YCA) Program:
Grade band: 9th-12th grade
Overview: Know a student who is ready for more climate action? We would love to review their application for the Youth Climate Ambassador leadership program in the fall of 2022. The YCA program is centered within San Mateo County to develop a network of youth climate action outside of the school system. Students apply in the fall to participate in a program that meets virtual every other week from October 2022 - May 2023. We will explore climate science and climate action, with a focus on developing leadership skills in students to plan and implement an impact project. Students who complete this program are also eligible to receive funding for their project along with a $500 stipend at the end of the program. Follow us @SustainSMC on Instagram and Twitter to be notified when applications are open for our next cohort of youth leaders. Learn more here or email program lead Kamille Lang at: klang1@smcgov.org
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About the OOS Schools Program
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The Office of Sustainability Schools Program provides a diverse array of Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core aligned curricula tailored to teachers', schools', and districts' goals, aimed at students taking action to reduce waste, conserve resources, and protect the environment. To learn more about the Office of Sustainability Schools Program, visit our website.
For questions and comments, please email us: sustainability@smcgov.org.
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