D65 Sustainability Update: August

Did you notice this litter station at the beach this summer? Shout out to Liyana R an 8th Grader at Chute for designing this Save our Lake poster featured by the City of Evanston at the new beach litter stations.

Hello, D65! I am thrilled to be joining your community and honored to support science and sustainability in your district. I discovered early on in my long career as an educator a love and passion for teaching about the natural world. I have worked in the Chicago Public Schools teaching science to students ranging from preschool to eighth grade and at the central office supporting science across the district. Early in the release of the Next Generation Science Standards I worked at DePaul University as an instructional coach and professional development leader supporting educators learning to carry out this new vision for science education. It was an exciting, full-circle opportunity when I recently taught science to elementary students for six years at an independent school, applying all that I had learned from exceptional teachers that I coached, university colleagues and NGSS experts. I am originally from Kansas City and came to Chicago to study at Loyola. I have stayed in Chicago since then, only leaving to spend two years in Mexico to teach and learn Spanish. I am a busy mom watching my boys, ages 17 and 20 grow up while doing the things I love like cooking and dancing.

In 2019 my 4th grade students inspired me to lead a sustainability effort in our school. At the time, my intention was to pause our current unit of study for just a single class period to talk about Greta Thunberg and the international movement of student strikes across the world. To my surprise, the students returned to class the next day fully expecting to continue the conversation about how we could take action to prevent climate change. We met consistently throughout the interruptions of the pandemic with nearly all of the 4th graders giving up recess and bringing their lunches to the science lab each week to work on how to plan. We organized into 4 groups and eventually presented at an assembly to inform the community about our accomplishments. The Food Waste Group had set up bins in the cafeteria to collect food students were throwing away. They were collecting, weighing and analyzing the results of the waste in an effort to raise awareness and strategize around how we might reduce the amount of food waste. The Reduce-Reuse-Recycle Group had begun to collaborate with the Head of Early Childhood to set up a glue stick recycling program. The Energy Group had surveyed families and distributed energy-savings kits for use at home. They also interviewed the school engineers to learn more about the wind turbine and solar panels on our roof that were unused. The Raise Awareness Group was putting together a presentation to educate other students about climate change and the actions of our group. I am proud to say that along with my students I had recruited my colleagues, provided an opportunity for passionate students, involved the community and started making an impact on our school.

I am excited to collaborate with Karen, Alissa, and D65 science educators to support our students to not only develop a joy and appreciation of science, but to provide opportunities for our young people to take action in this era where our planet’s survival and the quality of life for human beings will depend on scientific thinkers.

Established in the Spring 2024, D65 now has a cross functional Sustainability Leadership Team comprised of staff members from the following departments:

1. Buildings & Grounds

2. Nutrition Services

3. Schools Team

4. Sustainability

5. Teaching and Learning

6. Transportation

7. Grant Writing (as needed)

Goal: Identify and lead District actions aligned to and supportive of the City of Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan.

Did you know last school year D65 introduced a new OpenSciEd Unit 7.6 Earth's Resources and Human Impact (webinar, storyline) for 7th Grade?

This summer, our Science Team (Alissa Berg and Carla Shortino) hosted a summer project focused on developing a refreshed 7th Grade Climate Action Project aligned to Unit 7.6 with a team of seven (7) 7th Grade D65 Educators and Karen Bireta.

We're excited to support our D65 Educators as they roll out this new "Collective Action for Climate Justice" project in 7th Grade this school year. Stay tuned for more details...

We're excited to continue our partnership with Learning in Places which kicked off with an August summit. This year we've expanded from 10 educators in Preschool - 4th Grade to 15 educators in Preschool - 8th Grade with participation from the following schools:

• Haven Middle School
• Dawes Elementary
• King Arts
• Lincolnwood Elementary
• Oakton Elementary
• Bessie Rhodes
• JEH ECC
• Nichols Middle School
• Alissa Berg, Director of Science
• Carla Shortino, Science and Sustainability Education Coordinator
• Karen Bireta, Sustainability Coordinator

Please update your school contacts for climate action and school garden this school year (button below).

We're pleased to team up with ETHS, Northwestern University, and the City of Evanston to offer composting for the first time at this event. Imani "Miss Compost" will make a guest appearance too.

All are welcome and if you're available, please volunteer to monitor our waste stations (recycling, compost and landfill).

D65 celebrated the 5th ward school groundbreaking on July 15 and we were pleased to offer composting & recycling during the event. A big thank you to Chris Fedark, Natalia Moreno Polomarkakis and Kate Mason-Schultz for volunteering to monitor the waste station on the very hot summer day.

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

Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) staff are available for in-person presentations and spots fill quickly. Please submit your registration request at your earliest convenience to help make sure you receive a spot.

As a reminder, our signature program, “Taking Care of Our Earth”, is differentiated according to grade level and is a prerequisite to our specialty programs on soil, water, resources, and waste audits. However, our extremely popular, brief, walk-through audits, allowing SWANCC staff to offer quick, personalized, suggestions are available with any program.

All programs are FREE to schools within a member community.

Please follow the links below for more information:

• School Program Guide
• Registration Request
• $500 Waste Reduction Grant Information

• D65 Sustainability Website
• D65 Sustainability Positive Impact: 23-24 School Year
• D65 Sustainability Focus: 23-24 School Year
  
• D65 Guidance for Climate Action and Gardens at Schools: 23-24 School Year
  
• D65 Sustainability and Garden Resources Library
• D65 Sustainability Positive Impact: 23-24 School Year
• D65 Climate Action & Garden Community Contact List
• D65 Sustainability Positive Impact: 22-23 School Year
• D65 Sustainability Newsletter Archive