Earn a Green School Certificate

Main | Sign In | Chairman's Award | David D. Smith Award  

Instructions

Earning your certificate award is a great classroom or school project. Here's what you need to do:

1. Sign In to register and access the Green School Checklist
   (The Checklist is your application to become a Green School)  
2. Review the checklist activities, and the example environmental activities, to determine which activities you want to do
3. Complete at least 10 of the activities listed, or propose a few of your own*, for a Green Certificate, 15 for an Emerald Certificate, or 20 or more for an Evergreen Certificate, and indicate them on your online Checklist
   
4. Explain each of your activities in the space provided. We'll use these explanations to share your activities with other schools, the media and to post on our website 
   
5. If you need to, Save your Checklist and come back later to finish or edit your activities before the March 1 deadline
6. Submit your completed Checklist by March 1
7. Receive your Green School Award at the ceremony!
8. Display your Green School pride with a customized banner for just $24
   
   * In order to be eligible to propose your own activity in a category, you must complete 2 items listed in that category. Proposed items must fit the category in which they are entered and will be worth 1 point.

Note:  Checklists will be reviewed after the March 1 deadline. Applicants will be notified of award status by March 12. If you do not receive notification, or believe there is an error or omission in your status contact Katie McClintic at 616.365.2399, no later than March 19. 

Planning Your Activities

1. Recycling Activities
Questions to consider when starting a new recycling project:

1. What activities will foster student learning?
2. Do I need permission and what process do I follow for a collection bin, pick up or delivery on school property?
3. Where will we put a collection receptacle?
4. Who will be responsible for collecting and organizing recycled products?
5. How will we deliver recycled goods to the appropriate places? Will they pick them up?
6. How do we sustain our efforts?
   

2. Energy Saving Activities
Questions to consider when beginning an energy saving project:

1. How do I determine which activities will make the best learning for my students?
2. How will I inform students and parents about saving energy at home?
3. How will I encourage participation and know that students are saving energy outside of school if we participate in at-home activities?
4. Where will I get necessary materials to do a school project? Who do I need to work with?
   

3. Environmental and Ecological Activities
Questions to ask before implementing an environmental or ecological activity:

1. What activities will foster student learning?
2. Where do I get information about these types of projects?
3. How do I set up or plan events, presentations and experiments?
4. Which organizations provide animal adoption guidelines?
5. What process do I need to follow to bring someone into the school to speak to my students?
6. Where can I find necessary materials for class projects?
   

4. Spreading the Word
How will you inform key members of the school community about your school’s environmentally friendly activities and your Green Schools Certificate? (Consider the principal, teaching staff, support staff, students, parents and the community).

Remember, once you Sign In , you’ll be able to access the online checklist to submit for your certificate. You can Save and return to edit your checklist as often as you like before you submit the completed version. Be sure to finish before the March 1 deadline then click Submit and wait for your confirmation email.