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The Go Green Initiative Movement in Syracuse List-serve edition # 6
November & December are team building months
What's in this edition: · Maximizing the GGI · Go Green Initiative time line · NYSAR3 / GGI conference · Coming up quarterly progress reports – are you weighing? · Mark your calendars · A note from GGI Sponsors, Solvay Paperboard · Unified Recycling Policy released for all Syracuse City Schools · Recycling Education for elementary libraries · School of the month · The DEC calendar contest · Green website of the month! · Naef Recycling announces Scholarship winners
Maximize the Go Green Initiative at your school Meet regularly, take notes and submit them to me! To fully maximize environmental education in Syracuse – to make it all that it can be – we are trying to unify the city with the GGI program. We’re talking every school, every business EVERYBODY! This is a big goal, which will reap reward far beyond what we can imagine. I have no doubt that we can do this, with your help. Get your school involved with the GGI program and form your team. Try to meet at least once a month with your GREEN team and discuss problems and successes – and don’t’ forget to close the loop! Send me your meeting minutes so we can update our website with all of the fantastic things you are doing! As a team there is NO LIMIT to what we can accomplish! greenupny@yahoo.com
GGI Syracuse time line: - It’s been a busy month! May 10 2005: Chelle and Mark Naef attend the NYSAR3 federation conference in Lake George and hear GGI founder Jill Buck speak May 2005: Chelle Naef appeals to her daughter’s elementary school, Edward Smith, to join the GGI program. May 2005: Edward Smith becomes the first school in NYS to join the Go Green Initiative June 2005: Naef Recycling, NYSAR3, and Daystar Recycling join forces to promote the GGI program September 2005: Edward Smith officially kicks off the GGI program January 2006: Mark Naef of Naef Recycling hires Jennifer Spoor as a GGI coordinator March 2006: 5 schools in Syracuse sign onto the GGI program in 1 week! April 2006: OCRRA and Solvay Paperboard join the GGI team September 2006: The Syracuse City Board of Education grants the GGI program a letter of support September 2006: The Board of Education highlights the GGI as a “Choice” new initiative. November 2006: GGI presentation at the annual PTA conference in Rochester, NY. November 2006: NYSAR3/ GGI summit held in Syracuse NY. GGI founder Jill Buck speaks. November 2006: Mayor Matthew Driscoll meets with GGI founder, Jill Buck, and agrees to hold the GGI national summit in Syracuse in 2008. November 2006: Facilities issues a comprehensive unified recycling policy district wide November 2006: 26 school in Syracuse have signed onto the GGI program – 41 in New York State November 2006: Well over 400 people are actively participating in the GGI as GREEN team members! December 2006: ????? Who knows
NYSAR3 / GGI Conference: ((Look for this press release in the Scotsman and the Syracuse Parent))
"You can do it, we can help" ~Jill Buck
Over 200 enthusiastic Go Green-ers attended this years annual NYSAR3 conference at
the University Sheraton, including 9 student representatives from various GGI schools. Attendees were inspired and entertained by the GGI's dynamic founder, Jill Buck, who flew all the
way from California for the occasion. The audience laughed and learned with Jill as she explained
why the GGI program was designed and why it works - and why in just 4 years it has spread to well
over 400 schools in 25 states, and in Europe and Africa. NYS was declared the GGI state of the
year thanks largely to the state's alliance between the PTA and NYSAR3 in support of the GGI.
Since Syracuse's own Edward Smith elementary school became the first school in NYS to join the
GGI program, over 40 schools in NYS have joined the GGI program and are actively implementing
the simple guidelines - including 26 in Syracuse. Every year the GGI program celebrates its success and networks it's participants during an annual summit. In the past these summits have been held in
California - however there are talks of the annual GGI summit coming to Syracuse in 2008! Locally
the GGI is being coordinated and sponsored by Naef Recycling, and sponsored by Daystar recycling,
NYSAR3, OCRRA and Solvay Paperboard. For more information about the GGI program please
visit www.gogreeninitaitive.org.
Quarterly progress reports The moment of truth – are you weighing? December 15th is more than just 10 days from Christmas. December 15th day the quarterly progress report is due. GGI schools are required to fill out the report 3 times a year. Participants are required to weigh their paper recyclables weekly and share their numbers. Similar in importance to taking and submitting GREEN team notes, the numbers we glean from the quarterly progress reports tangibly show the successes of the GGI program in ways that we can share to help with the expansion of the GGI! Reports will be submitted to me, via email (greenupny@yahoo.com) or fax (315-463-0641.)
Mark your calendar: December 15th – first quarterly progress report March 15th – second quarterly progress report June 15th – third quarterly progress report
Unified Recycling Policy To help clear up common misconceptions A special GGI thanks goes out to Nick DiBello and Dick Stefanko. In order to help the advancement of GGI environmental education program and proper recycling practice, Mr. Stefanko and Mr. DiBello developed a comprehensive recycling guide and sent it out to all administrators and head custodians throughout the Syracuse City school district. The way we recycle now isn’t the way it used to be – for example, Milk Cartons are recyclable - See the memo, which is attached to this email. Thanks Guys! (note: click here to see the policy)
Solvay Paperboard- our sponsors to the west A special thanks to Michelle Rurka, of Solvay paperboard, who has been printing the GGI Syracuse pamphlets. Michelle has been printing off pamphlets folding them at an astonishing rate of 500 every other week. Thanks for helping us get the word out Michelle! A few words about Solvay Paper board, Go Green Initiative sponsor, Solvay Paperboard is an ISO registered, state-of-the-art, recycled linerboard and medium mill for the corrugated box industry, built in 1994. Solvay Paperboard currently operates three paper machines which consume approximately 2260 tons per day of secondary fiber (recycled paper). The mill employs around 260 people in Solvay, NY. Solvay Paperboard has been offering field trips for GGI school GREEN teams and may be offering plant tours during Earth week 2007. For more information on Solvay Paperboard, please visit our website at www.solvaypaperboard.com.
Recycling Education for elementary libraries Are you looking, or know someone who is looking, for a great book about recycling for your preschool aged child? – from a local author? Read on!
Let’s Recycle
About the Author Anne Mackenzie has a background in biology and environmental science. After years of experience and writing reports in the consulting engineering industry in these fields, she acquired an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and now writes for children from her home in Central New York. She also spent several years working for her local library as the children’s story time coordinator. For more information contact Anne: 315-637-1141 alm@twcny.rr.com
School of the Month Grant Middle School wins the honor for their spectacular team effort Team work is the key to the progression of the GGI program. Grant Middle School has done a great job building their team! In just 4 month’s time, they have touched on all 5 of the GGI guidelines! They are moving so quickly it’s hard to keep up! Last I checked, 6 teachers are currently actively participating in the implementation of the GGI program at Grant. Currently 3 teachers: Mary Laframboise, Amber Shoudy and Amber McKay, are all vermicomposting both classroom waste and cafeteria waste with their classroom vermicomposting bins. Because of the importance of proper recycling the Grant GREEN team have established teacher and student volunteers for each of the 3 floors. A special “contents are contaminated, with inappropriate objects” sign is posted on bins which are contaminated with non-recyclable materials. The sign is laminated and reused weekly (as needed.) Making a sign is a great alternative for schools who would like to avoid the use of stickers; stickers on the floor, stickers on the lockers, stickers on the walls. To help educate the students and staff, the various class recycling teams are planning to get together soon to meet with OCRRA representatives / GGI coordinator Jennifer Spoor, to learn more about what is recyclable and what isn’t. Students will be given a special recycling presentation, and will in turn present their knowledge to their peers during free periods. Mary Laframboise and Amber McKay have developed a special unit for recycling and environmental education and have given their students recycling / environmental science tests to introduce them to the GGI program. The GREEN team at Grant has met 4 times to discuss the GGI program, and ways to reduce their negative environmental impact, as a school. Great Job and Keep up the good work!
New York State DEC calendar contest: Showcase your artistic talent and promote environmental awareness at the same time! The NYS DEC has invited all of New York State's public and private school children and youth organizations to showcase their artistic talent and their commitment to the environment by participating in the Sixth Annual New York Recycles! Poster Contest sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the New York Recycles! The twelve (12) New York State winners receive the honor of having their artwork in a calendar which will be distributed throughout the State. The schools with winning entries will also receive a recycled content tote bag filled with educational materials and videos. For more information visit: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/redrecy/prules.htm. For your FREE copy of the 2007 recycling calendar and complete rules for participation send an email to Jennifer Spoor, greenupny@yahoo.com
Green website of the month!
For all your recycling education fact and tidbit needs
Naef Recycling announces scholarship winners Students from Liverpool and Fayetteville-Manlius awarded $500 As a final note, in this month’s edition of the GGI Syracuse list serve, please take the time to be inspired by the change present all around us – these thoughtful essays, written by 2 very bright high school students, address the problems we as a society must face and – they call us to act! Collin DeJoseph from Liverpool High School and Melyssa Brown both won $500 dollars for their thoughtful essays on recycling.
The following is an excerpt from Melyssa Brown’s t essay entitled “Our future lies in a small blue bin.” It is our responsibility to look after the Earth, the only planet on which we as humans can currently survive. So why do so many of us continue to use this great milieu as our personal dump? Recycling is one of the easiest, but also one of the most important ways to maintain a healthy and clean environment. Can you imagine living in a world filled with landfills and no green space? Luckily since the mid 1980s, when recycling began, work against this grim future has been gaining ground.
The following is an excerpt from Collin DeJoseph’s thought provoking essay entitled “Go Green.” "Go green!" These are the words being shouted by environmentally concerned citizens all over the world. We as a society are facing an ever-growing problem: the over consumption of materials. We are using and disposing of waste faster than we can find room to put it. There is, however, a solution. We can stop squandering and start saving. With full cooperation from consumers, we can stop wasting, start recycling, and truly "go green."
Thank you all for your participation! And as always, if you have any questions/ comment/ meeting minutes/ ideas/ feedback of any sort please don’t hesitate to call GGI coordinator Jennifer Spoor at 315-558-0155 or email me at greenupny@yahoo.com Happy Holidays! Until next time – Happy GREEN-ing
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