PVP Co-Founder Brid Martin has long been passionate about environmental issues. Currently working on a master’s degree in the Mindfulness Studies Program at Lesley University, her Internship class, Mindfulness as Social Engagement, has given her both the opportunity and dedicated time to develop a more environmentally friendly setting at each of our schools.
Brid discovered the Green Newton School Connections group through an online search, and, as a new member, says she’s already learned a great deal. Most recently, she enrolled our West Newton School in the Green Team Organization, an excellent resource she discovered through the group.
The group has identified a list of goals to help get the program started. They include:
• placing recycling and composting containers at each school;
• educating directors and teachers on what gets recycled, composted, and logistics such as pick-up dates and times, etc.;
• creating developmentally appropriate curriculum in English and Spanish centered on the concepts of sustainability and mindfulness for toddlers and preschoolers;
• replacing paper and one-time use utensils with reusable options; utilizing recycle centers as potential resources for writing and art/curriculum materials;
• involving parents in our efforts and offering suggestions and tools that extended the learning and practices at home.
Implementing environmentally friendly practices and focusing our education on environmental issues at the West Newton School will help inform future roll-outs at our other school locations. We also plan on sharing what we learn and the curriculum we develop with other preschool programs that are interested in starting a sustainability initiative.
“We are running out of time to do something that halts and reverses the effects of climate change,” says Brid. “The time is now, and we all bear the responsibility to save this planet for future generations. We have an opportunity to do something meaningful starting where we live, with our families, our workplaces, and our communities.” Brid is enthusiastically committed to creating Green Schools one school at a time while teaching our littlest citizens that they have the power to make change happen. “I am optimistic about the future,” she says, “and failure is not an option.”
If you are part of an environmental group in your neighborhood, we invite you to share your efforts with us so that we can post more on our pages—we would be thrilled to be able to help boost the signal!
If you live or work in Newton, Brid highly recommends that you join them at the Green Newton Organization. She says, “I have met many people who are already doing so much, and I have unearthed a treasure trove of resources to help me in my mission.”
We can’t wait to hear more about what you are doing in your communities as well!