By Hans Weber

Some of you may have noticed the giant banner hanging above the school’s front entrance. We got this because we received bronze-level certification from Sustainable Jersey for Schools in July. What does that mean though, and how did we get it? These are all questions that I will be answering in this article. 

So first off, Sustainable Jersey for Schools is a coalition of educational, business, and state organizations with a mission of building a sustainable future for New Jersey. Sustainability means protecting and conserving the environment, for example, by not wasting energy, water, and materials. 

Under the certification program, there are lots of activities that schools can do to show that they are working towards sustainability. After completing one of these activities, a school has to send proof that they did it and earn points. Please keep in mind that I just simplified this, and it is much harder than it sounds. The number of points you get for each activity is 5 to 20, but most activities are worth 10 points. For bronze certification, you need a total of 150 points, and 350 for silver certification. We are a bronze-certified school.

Some of the people who were leading this initiative in our school were Ms. Bialek and Ms. Sauer along with the Green Team last year. The Green Team includes Environmental Club members, our superintendent, students, and an executive crew of students, teachers, custodial staff, cafeteria staff, board members, the business administrator, and parents. 

So what did we do to get bronze certified? Ms. Bialek says, “The first action that I took on was the school garden … We were actually able to get points for a few action items under the School Gardens umbrella. The first was an in-ground garden and the second was a raised bed.” These were the first points that Ms. Bialek earned. 

Ms. Sauer said that the first points she earned were for the Civic & Stewardship Volunteer initiative. For this activity, the school participated in the town’s Arbor Day celebration and some students learned about the town’s Maritime Forest. On Arbor Day, a tree was planted in honor of that year’s eighth-grade class. At the Maritime forest, Captain Al Modjeski, who works for the American Littoral Society and works very closely with Bradley Beach along with Rona Parker, part of the Bradley Beach Environmental Commission, taught students about the native flora and fauna. Soon after, the students planted bayberries, cedars, and dune grass to help sustain the Maritime Forest.

So, how are these changes going to affect students? Well, the changes that will most affect students are probably the changes to the curriculum. Going forward, there will be more lessons about being sustainable, climate change, and other related topics. One example is this year’s Sustainable Fashion Project. Seventh and eighth graders worked with a textile artist to turn old t-shirts into new, upcycled garments. Eighth graders learned about the problem of fast fashion on a global scale, and how to make simple choices that can help reduce our impact.

The Green Team is currently working on making our cafeteria more sustainable. They want to provide breakfast in the classroom for all students during Morning Meeting, create healthier choices for lunch, and utilize more green materials such as trays and utensils. 

  They are working on plans to acquire a large greenhouse that could be used as an outside classroom. It will also be used to plant vegetables and other plants. Personally, I would love to be able to have class outside.

Now, you might be asking, “When will we reach silver certification?” Well, Ms. Sauer says, “I would like to reach silver certification by June 2025.” This may seem like a long time from now, but remember we need about 200 more points to reach silver certification.

Keep an eye out for sustainable changes to our school and thank you Green Team for working to make our school a more sustainable place!