green team

posters for display in caffeteria are needed
Ideas for activities prior to meetings are strongly needed and are appreciated thank you very much.
There is a green team meeting on Monday,December,10th,2007
thank you green team member

surveys

remember about the surveys

green team

the green team will meet on monday November 5 at lunch.

green team

We only need an announcement for the 31st thanks.
Green team is meeting on Wednesday in Miss Reinsalu 's room at the start of lunch so please bring your lunch and come on in .




11 Tips To Make Your Halloween Eco Friendly

1. buy your pumpkin from an organic farmers market
2. bake the seeds, instead of trashing
3. use leftovers for animal feeding, like for chickens
4. donate your used pumpkins to local farms
5. make and freeze pumpkin puree
6. buy from pesticide free pumpkin patches, if available in your area
7. bake a pumpkin pie
8. instead of using a pumpkin, try something different like squash
9. make pumpkin soup
10. create compost out of your used pumpkins
11. add your own eco-tip below in the comments section

Technorat

for more info go to link

Thanks green team member Amanda

waste audit members

because on Thursday we on a trip and we did not do an announcement so on Monday we are going to do Thursdays announcement.

we need more announcements re: green team by next week.

waste audit we need to meet next week stay tuned for further announcements about it and it will be posted so be aware and please remember to recycle , reuse , and reduce and bring litter less lunches.

green team will hopefully meet next week because we missed one whole week and we should try not to do that thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
green team member Amanda

composting

At home you all have composters like an organic bin right?
Well alot of people don't use them because they make your home smell or they are to lazy to take food out of the package and put it in the organic bin or you even think it is nasty or you just don't remember that they have an organic bin . They also just don't know what goes in the organic bin and don't bother looking or asking their parents what goes in. So here is a list that you may use :What goes in the Green Bin?
Fruits, vegetable scraps
Meat, shellfish, fish products
Pasta, bread, cereal
Dairy products, egg shells
Coffee grounds, filters, tea bags
Soiled paper towels, tissues
Soiled paper food packaging: fast food paper packaging, ice cream boxes, muffin paper, flour and sugar bags
Paper coffee cups, paper plates
Candies, cookies, cake
Baking ingredients, herbs, spices
Household plants, including soil
Diapers, sanitary products
Animal waste, bedding (e.g. from bird/hamster cages), kitty litter
Pet food Please make sure you do this at home. Thanks Green Team member Amanda

Recycling things never thought of like mouse pad and we don’t need any more announcements for this week thanks any way and don’t forget to recycle, reuse and reduce waste.

Remember think about GREEN TEAM ideas thanks a lot and greatly appreciated
See you then please come and recycle and pack a litterless lunch on Thursday for the trip

Green team member Amanda

batteries

ways to dispose of batteries

more about batteries

Waste Reduction Week activity day

Come to room 309 at lunch.

I am going to set up a number of possibilities to help you find ways to reduce, recycle and reuse "waste."


Other points for the Green Team....

We need to put together a bulletin board full of information to help students remember what is waste and what to recycle.
(We'll help them learn how long some items take to biodegrade too!)

I have found some fun recycling art.
I want to share the activities with you and we can do them on future dates.
Mrs. Baxter will go over the Waste Reduction Quiz and Code breaking exercise with you too.

Any old CDs? Please bring them to school. I have an idea for part of the mural.

Miss R

Waste Reduction Week

Green Team!!

It's Waste Reduction Week Oct. 15 - 22, 2007
Here's a power point about garbage:
what is waste?

We have three teams organized to launch the Waste Reduction Week.
We will be concentrating on helping the whole school reduce the amount of waste it produces in a three-pronged action.

step 1 -- Announcements - based on what you learned about biodegrable items that should be recycled (or even reused) that end up in the garbage dump.
-- advertise our Green Team activity day

Volunteers to create announcements - posters, or over the PA

Tina Andrei Virangna Amanda Jaiden
Muhammad Hamza Mahak

step 2 -- Activities - we are hosting a Green Team activity day even
Wednesday, Oct. 17 at lunch
During the activity day we invite all Milne Valley students to go through the biodegrable items activity
We have a break the code activity and other quizzes all about waste and waste reduction...

At the end, we will collect some ideas about caring from those who came out.

step 3 -- Waste Audit - Nikolas Mara Anjana Luci Virangna Amanda
Muhammad Andrei Ryan Casey Jeff Elijah Lauren Ayesha

Waste / recycling vocabulary

Hi all! Don't forget that there's a Green team meeting this Thursday at lunch in room 309.

We're going to talk about waste. Well, more like how to reduce the amount of waste we produce at school, at home...etc.

Here's some vocabulary courtesy of a site found in Wisconsin, U.S.
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/index.htm (Department of Natural Resources)
very cool for more information.

• biodegradable: when a substance is able to be broken down by microorganisms into basic elements like carbon dioxide and water. (See "decompose.")

• bottle bill: a law requiring deposits on drink containers, like aluminum cans and plastic bottles. This law may keep people from littering and or filling up the landfills.

• casting: the waste material of worms.

• composting: a process that allows you to decompose some of your table scraps and yard waste. This is done by a layering process so everything decays into fertile humus (or new soil).

• conserve: to protect something from becoming overused or lost all together. Conservation is the wise use of natural resources to avoid wasting naturally occurring resources or using them up completely.

• decompose: to break down into component parts or basic elements; or to rot. Decomposition is an organic process necessary for the continuation of life since it creates essential nutrients that plants and animals need and use.

• dump: an open unsanitary site for junk. These are now illegal in Wisconsin.

• energy recovery: the creation of energy by burning solid waste materials.

• garbage: spoiled or waste food that is thrown away. This does not include dry material or trash.

• groundwater: water beneath the earth's surface that fills the spaces and flows between soil particles and rock. Groundwater is what you find in wells and springs. Two out of every three Wisconsin citizens drink groundwater.

• hazardous waste: poisonous waste that can cause problems for living organisms or the environment.

• humus: organic material consisting of decayed vegetable matter. It provides nutrients for plants and allows soil to better hold water.

• landfill: a site where solid waste burial is controlled and managed.

• leachate: a liquid that comes from solid waste that may be contaminated. Some times leachate can contaminate ground or surface water.

• litter: any waste material thrown or left in an inappropriate place. Littering is illegal in Wisconsin and there is a fine.

• methane: a gas that is colorless, odorless, flammable, and potentially dangerous. It is formed when organic matter decomposes and can be used as a fuel.

• natural resource: naturally occurring material such as soil, wood, air, water, oil or minerals. They are valuable to people, plants, and wildlife.

• nonrenewable resource: a natural material that is considered finite in amount (e.g., coal, copper, petroleum). This is because it takes a great length of time to form (longer than a lifetime, maybe more).

• organic: created from living organisms.

• pollution: harmful substances left in the environment, leading to a dirty, impure or unhealthy place.

• raw material: an unprocessed natural resource or product used in manufacturing.

• recycle: collecting and reprocessing already manufactured materials for remanufacture either as the same thing or as part of a different product. (Taking a plastic bottle and turning it into a park bench or another bottle).

• reduce: to lessen in amount, number or other quantity.

• renewable resource: a natural resource that comes from an endless or repeating source like the: sun, wind, water, fish, trees, cotton.

• reuse: to extend the life of an item by using it again, repairing it, modifying it or creating new uses for it.

• sanitary landfill: a specially designed site for disposing of solid waste on land. These are now constructed in a way that reduces hazards to health and safety.

• solid waste: all solid, semi-solid, liquid and gaseous wastes, including trash, garbage, yard waste, ashes, industrial waste, construction waste, and household discards such as appliances, furniture and equipment.

• solid waste management: the controlling, handling and disposal of all solid waste. One goal of solid waste management is to reduce waste to the least amount possible.

• source reduction: a reduction in the amount and/or toxicity of waste entering the waste stream - also called waste prevention.

• trash: material considered worthless, not necessary or offensive that is usually thrown away. Trash is generally defined as dry material and excludes food waste (garbage) and ashes.

• worm casting (castings): Undigested materials, soil, and bacteria excreted by a worm. Basically worm manure.

Green team next meeting - what a waste!

First of all the result of our poll!
(Don't forget to vote next time you are here on this site!)

It takes, 80 - 100 years for a tin can (think soup or vegetable) to degrade (break down and disappear) if it ends up in the garbage dump.
That's a long time!!

Think about what would happen if this can were to be recycled instead?

Now think about the following items:

wool sock glass bottle pop can (aluminum plastic bag
plastic 6-pack ring plastic pop bottles banana orange peel paper rubber heel on a leather shoe leather boot Styrofoam cup



We will investigate the biodegradability of the above items?
Would they take days, weeks, months or years to degrade in a garbage dump?
Where else could these items go instead of our garbage?

See you Thursday, October 11 at lunchtime for our next meeting.
Bring a boomerang or littlerless lunch!
Remember new Green Team members always welcome!!

It's Waste Reduction Week in Canada Oct. 15 - 21, 2007
We'll also think about what WE can do as the Green Team of MV during this time!

Green Team success for first event!

Congratulations!! Four classes walked along with Green Team members for the World Record Walk day today! WRW, in association with International Walk to School day, was an attempt for communities to simultaneously walk together for 1 km.

Ontario hopes to break the record set by Australia last year.

Our next week's meeting will be Thursday, Oct. 11 at lunch.
Please bring your litterless / boomerang lunch to room 309!

Thank you!

Main goals of the MVMS Green Team

Environmental Awareness

Waste Reduction

Energy Conservation

School Greening


--------Thinking globally and acting locally.......
Someone once said...............
Thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become character and character becomes one's destiny................Go Green!

ECO Schools checklist

EcoSchools Certification Checklist

This checklist supports your school’s application to become a Certified Ontario EcoSchool. It is a quick summary of documentation you may need to submit depending on the points you have achieved according to the Certification guide. Keep this checklist at the front of your Certification portfolio and use it to organize your submission.

The checklist below summarizes all of the documentation listed in the Certification guide. Depending on your school’s activities, all of the document listed below might not be relevant. For example, if your school did not have an environmental festival in the current year (Part VI. Question 2) you would not submit a copy of the festival agenda.

Parts I, II and III: EcoTeam, Energy Conservation and Waste Minimization	Date
Copy of meeting minutes
Initial Energy Conservation EcoReview
Initial Waste Minimization EcoReview
Follow Up Energy Conservation EcoReview
Follow Up Waste Minimization EcoReview
Copy of the Waste Monitoring Documents and/or announcements
Copy of your board’s Energy Conservation Guidelines or Standards
Copy of your board’s Waste Minimization Guidelines or Standards
Part IV: Curriculum
Description of each teacher’s environmental education curriculum. Attach samples of student work if possible. A maximum of 7 submissions are possible in this category
Part V: Staff Development
List of workshops that were attended, topic of workshop and who attended them. A maximum of 4 PD sessions are eligible in this category
Part VI: Enriching your Program
Copy of Site Plan for school ground shade and energy conservation project
Copy of an agenda, notice or planning notes pertaining to the environmental festival
Copy of the letter from Clean Air Partnership confirming participation in the 20/20: Way to Clean Air program
Part VII: Innovative Projects
Brief description of each innovative project. A maximum of 2 submissions are possible for this category
Certification guide (checklists and Verification Statement must be completed)

Welcome to the Green Team

We will be posting information, events and ideas on this blog.

If you have any ideas how we can:
- increase environmental awareness
- decrease waste
- conserve energy

please post them as anonymous and I will check and post your information.

Remember NOT to use first and last names. For internet safety, use first names only.

You can also share links. For example, have you read about David Suzuki's Nature Challenge.

Important date: Wednesday, Oct. 3 - 12:30 p.m. the World Record Walk