D65 Sustainability Update: Aug 25

Celebrating our D65 Sustainability Positive for the 24-25 School Year! Thank you to so many students, staff, caregivers and community members coming together to bring sustainability to life in our schools in so many beautiful ways.

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” ~ Ryunosuke Sator

24-25 School Year: D65 Sustainability Positive Impact

Please update your school's contact information for the 25-26 school year, including:

Climate Action Team Chair(s)
School Garden Team Chair(s)
Climate Club
School PTA and Newsletter emails

Climate Action and School Garden Contact List

All are welcome to attend. Together we're focusing on building a brighter, healthier, more equitable future for our children. Learn more.

Celebrating our positive impact from lunchroom composting and recycling in ALL our schools this school year!

Together, we composted over 246,150 lbs of waste and 368,252 trays with 6388 students participating at 17 schools. We avoided 88 Metric Tons of carbon emissions by composting instead of landfilling our waste, that's equal to 1455 tree seedlings growing for 10 years! 24-25 School Year Positive Impact Summary

Shout out to all our students and staff dedicated to composting and recycling in our schools, thanks for all your hard work making this sustainability program come to life each day in our schools.

Learn more about our lunchroom composting and recycling program, click here.

In 2025, our D65 schools mobilized to gather leftover school supplies that would typically go to the landfill from May 21 to June 6. We encouraged sharing and reuse within our schools and D65 Families and recovered $2150 of school supplies to offset purchasing new supplies!

7 Participating Schools in 2025: Dawes, JEH ECC, Kingsley, Lincoln, Oakton, Orrington, Walker

Remaining items were donated to the D65 Family Wellness Program, Art Makers Outpost, and SCARCE. A big thank you to all who participated in our D65 End of School Clean Out and giving back to our schools, families and community. Thanks to you as our teachers, staff, caregivers and volunteers who helped make this year's clean out a success!

Learn more about this year's process and positive impact.

The Illinois Green Schools Project (IGSP) is an annual sustainability action and recognition program for K-12 schools in Illinois. We help educators engage students and school stakeholders in hands-on projects that improve health, efficiency, and environmental impact.

How it Works

Schools are represented in the program by a Green Team Leader (staff or faculty) who works to form a green team made up of other staff, faculty, administrators, and students. The green team works through three program stages: Assess & Design, Implementation, and Storytelling & Recognition. The program offers support, resources, mentorship with a sustainability professional to help guide the process, and an opportunity for a mini-grant up of to $1,000. Whether you're just getting started or already have green initiatives in place, it's a great way to connect classroom learning with real-world action, and to get students involved in meaningful, project-based work.

Sign Up Now!

Get started on your sustainability project right away by signing up anytime before the September 26th deadline.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSersW8dISrMk9RKXolzlRdNMivwPUiTg4ZAY1S4HtlClNxEvw/viewform

The City of Evanston has partnered with Recycle Coach to help residents reduce waste and improve recycling habits. Through the free Recycle Coach platform, available online or via mobile app, users can access collection schedules, receive service updates, search “What Goes Where?”, and more.

Earn up to $2000 for the development of wildlife habitat at your school! Projects must emphasize student/youth involvement with planning, development and maintenance and increase the educational and wildlife habitat values of the site. Learn More and Apply by Dec. 3.

Calling all SWANCC member communities....Schools, Libraries, and now, Nonprofits are all available to apply for a $500 Waste Reduction Grant!

Do you have an idea for Waste Reduction and need a bit of financial support? Don't wait, apply for a grant today! Need more time to be creative and think through your initiative? No problem. Based on funding availability, applications are now accepted all year!

Waste Grant Announcement

Waste Grant Application

Motivate your students, club, or other group and light a spark of enthusiasm through action!

Low stress, fully funded, and materials are delivered to you. Apply for a $200 Clean Up Grant open year round.

Our Sustainability Positive Impact: 24-25 School Year Our Sustainability Positive Impact: 24-25 School Year

Climate Action & School Garden Contacts for 25-26 School Year Climate Action & School Garden Contacts for 25-26 School Year

Save the Date: D65 Sustainability Community Meetings Save the Date: D65 Sustainability Community Meetings

Positive Impact: Lunchroom Composting & Recycling Positive Impact: Lunchroom Composting & Recycling

Positive Impact: 2025 End of School Clean Out Positive Impact: 2025 End of School Clean Out

Sign-Up for Illinois Green Schools 25-26SY Cohort by Sept 26 Sign-Up for Illinois Green Schools 25-26SY Cohort by Sept 26

Illinois Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant: Apply by Dec 3 Illinois Schoolyard Habitat Action Grant: Apply by Dec 3

SWANCC Waste Reduction Grant: Now Open Year-Round SWANCC Waste Reduction Grant: Now Open Year-Round

SWANCC Grant Opportunity for Clean Ups SWANCC Grant Opportunity for Clean Ups

D65 Sustainability Key Resources D65 Sustainability Key Resources