School Connections is a collaborative group of students, families, educators and community members who aim to build a just, healthy, sustainable and climate-resilient community. School Connections aspires to help our schools educate students and empower them to be climate advocates and sustainability leaders.
The group meets on the second Thursday of the month from 4:30-5:30pm.
Some of what we do:
- Partner with NPS in the School Sustainability Working Group (SSWG)
- Share past and current sustainability efforts at individual schools
- Help schools to set up Green Teams
- Provide schools with information and resources on making their schools more sustainable
- Develop and share recycling practices and signage for schools, in partnership with Newton Sustainable Materials Management division
- Advocate for the hiring of a sustainability coordinator at NPS: a dedicated staff person to plan and implement consistent waste management throughout the school district
- Host discussions with stakeholders from the city government and elected officials
Contact schoolconnections@greennewton.org to join.
Other Youth Initiatives
Green Newton believes it is important to listen to the young people in our community and engage them in the environmental work we do. To foster the next generation of environmental leaders, we run additional youth initiatives:
Environmental Youth Leadership Program
This leadership program engages and empowers youth from local high schools and colleges to act positively for climate solutions.
Some of what we do:
- Organizing and presenting environmental webinars, such as Greening the Holidays
- Learning how to advocate for climate solutions
- Leading events and community projects
- 4C Tree Project – planting trees in Newton
Contact marcia@greennewton.org to join.
Students for a Greener World
Students for A Greener World (SGW) was a dedicated group of middle and high school students, sponsored by Green Newton, that was active until 2022. Its goal was to reach out to kids of all ages and to help them learn and practice environmentally friendly actions at home, school, and beyond — and have fun doing it! Some of the many things students accomplished included:
- Coordinated the Annual Environmental Art Contest for school-aged kids
- Organized EnviroJam — the Newton North High School rock concert that raises money to support the environment
- Created awareness campaigns to help Newton businesses increase recycling rates and decrease use of disposable water bottles
- Helped visitors at the Newton Farmer’s Market Green Newton booth
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