Jekyll2019-02-12T19:57:24+00:00/feed.xmlStudents, Teachers, Administrators, Parents and other community members affiliated with Baker Elementary School in Brookline MA, organizing to reduce, reuse, recycle, walk more, compost, and generally preserve and protect our school, community, town, planet, health and future.2019-02-12T18:32:41+00:002019-02-12T18:32:41+00:00/2019/02/12/baker-faculty-and-parents-brainstorm<p>Green Team parents met with the Baker staff at a recent faculty meeting. A number of teachers signed up to be a part of the team, which is fantastic!</p> <p>The teachers also had some great ideas for things to work on, including:</p> <ul> <li>Having indoor plants.</li> <li>Increasing recycling awareness.</li> <li>Reducing plastic in the cafeteria, including getting rid of single use plastic utensils, reducing food waste (eg promoting the ‘no thank you’ bin/table more), and introducing composting and recycling into the caf.</li> <li>Continuing the 5th grade battery recycling bin.</li> <li>Promoting reuseable water bottles and upgrading water fountains to modern-style bottle fillers.</li> <li>Fund raising.</li> </ul>

Green Team parents met with the Baker staff at a recent faculty meeting. A number of teachers signed up to be a part of the team, which is fantastic!

2019-02-12T18:14:38+00:002019-02-12T18:14:38+00:00/2019/02/12/links-to-a-greener-life<p>Hey Folks, here are three super quick, easy and inexpensive things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.</p> <h3 id="energy">ENERGY</h3> <p>Opt up to 100% renewable energy. It’s easy to sign up and the rates are currently cheaper than regular!</p> <p><a href="https://brooklineoptup.com/">https://brooklineoptup.com/</a></p> <h3 id="compost">COMPOST</h3> <p>Sign up for curbside compost pickup with Black Earth or Bootstrap. At Black Earth the price will drop by 40% once 500 Brookline residents join! Bootstrap is great too – they employ people with disabilities, and pay a living wage.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://blackearthcompost.com/brookline-ma/">https://blackearthcompost.com/brookline-ma/</a></li> <li><a href="https://bootstrapcompost.com/">https://bootstrapcompost.com/</a></li> </ul> <p>Fill out the DPW survey asking residents about composting in Brookline: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZH2WJPD</p> <p>Article on other Brookline schools composting: http://brookline.wickedlocal.com/news/20180813/brookline-schools-businesses-push-for-composting</p> <h3 id="reducing-waste">REDUCING WASTE</h3> <p>Opt out of receiving printed junk mail and catalogs by mail: <a href="https://www.catalogchoice.org/">https://www.catalogchoice.org/</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/smarter-living/how-to-cut-down-on-unwanted-junk-mail.html">This NY Times article</a>, explains some more ways to to reduce unwanted mail.</p> <p>Key links are included here, for convenience.</p> <p><a href="https://dmachoice.thedma.org/">https://dmachoice.thedma.org/</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.optoutprescreen.com/">https://www.optoutprescreen.com/</a></p> <p>These are legitimate services, recommended by the FTC, according to the article.</p> <p><img src="/images/2019/02/snippet-from-nyt-article.png" alt="Snippet from NYT article" /></p>

Hey Folks, here are three super quick, easy and inexpensive things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.

2019-01-17T15:00:15+00:002019-01-17T15:00:15+00:00/2019/01/17/join-the-baker-green-team<p>We’re just getting started, but there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm in the community!</p> <p>Some of the ideas people have expressed interested about include:</p> <ul> <li>Increasing walking/biking to school, reducing cars and CO2, easing traffic and congestion</li> <li>School garden, nutrition, health and wellness</li> <li>Compost, recycling, reducing plastics and waste</li> <li>School internal environment, ventilation and air quality, lighting, heating/cooling, water fountains</li> <li>Classroom, curriculum, and in-school initiatives</li> </ul> <p>Got other ideas? Want to participate in the effort? <a href="mailto:info@bakergreenteam.org">Email us to get involved!</a></p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Q2xuPKqF-Q_W-o5l171A0HT3e8RLw1hQ">See the full notes from our January kickoff meeting here</a>.</p>

We’re just getting started, but there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm in the community!