Michigan Green Schools

Welcome to the Official Michigan Green Schools Foundation Website

Maplewood Elementary School students excitedly accept their 2018-2019 Green School designation in a celebratory assembly!

Congratulations to all our 2019 Green Schools on their fantastic achievements!

If you're interested in applying for the 2019-2020 school year, reach out to your county coordinator to learn more! All official green schools may use the Michigan Green School copyright logo on websites, newspapers, yearbooks, etc. To request the vector logo, please contact us.

Featured Threatened Animal

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a threatened species in Michigan. To learn more about the recovery plan and what you can do to help, visit the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website and print our coloring sheet for a fun activity. The coloring pages are copyright free for participating Michigan Green Schools.

Red-shouldered Hawk. Photo Credit: Larry Smith

2019 Goal

A top goal again this school year is reducing food waste. For every 1 lb. of food waste composted, 6 lbs. of greenhouse gases are kept out of the atmosphere! Schools can get a compost bin or compost units for classrooms and know they are making a great contribution to protect our earth. Learn more at https://www.smarterlunchrooms.org.

Monthly Ideas: July

Energy Idea:
Dont forget to keep refrigerators and freezers full during the summer. They are likely more empty this time of year. Simply put in water bottles to save money. Refrigerators are one the energy heavy appliances.

Green Idea
Build or buy some purple martin birdhouses. Purple martins eat huge amount of flies, wasps, and crickets. Their diet also includes mosquitos. Put up some houses in your yard and at school. Native Americans used to put up gourds to bring in the martins.

Reuse Idea:
Rather than adding to the amount of textiles already in our landfills, host a clothing and textiles collection at your school. Some items like towels and blankets could go to local animal shelters for reuse, and other items can go to local thrift shops for resale and/or textile recycling.

More Ideas:
Visit our Green Activities page for more suggestions. The page is updated each year, so continue to check back!

Websites We Love

https://www.b4usa.com/ - You can find almost anything on this website that is American made. Buying products made in the USA is environmentally wise because it decreases the energy used and greenhouses gases released because of shorter transit distances, and it means the products have to meet the safety and toxicity standards of the United States.
https://4ocean.com/ - Pull 1 lb. of plastic out of the ocean with each purchase from this great organization. They are taking tons of plastic out of river outlets and oceans!
https://therainforestsite.greatergood.com/ - Just click once (it's free!) each day, and you can save about 21 square feet of rainforest!
www.ecologyfund.com/ecology/_ecology.html - With a few more free clicks each day, you can protect endangered species, reduce pollution, and more!
shop.arborday.org/donate-fire.aspx - The Arbor Day Foundation will plant trees in the United States for your school for as small of a donation as $25.

Green Did You Knows

Time to declare independence from carcinogenic food dyes. Some of children's
most popular snacks also contain dna damaging dyes like red 40 and yellow 6. Make a point to read labels. These dyes are disclosed by law on the products.

It takes 450 years for plastics to decompose. Paper or plastic shopping bags? Paper is a better environmental choice, and reusable cloth bags are even better!
The average American throws out 82 lbs. of clothing a year!
Lake Erie is starting to be called the new Dead Sea. Lake Erie tested out for 1.7 million plastic particulates per square mile. These particulates harm people and animals through the release of BPA, a toxic chemical. Many marine animals also fatally swallow larger pieces of plastic.
22 billion plastic bottles are thrown away annually; that's enough to circle the earth four times!
The EPA has a list of EPA-tested, recommended cleaners and other maintenance items. Your school can start using these once it uses up what it already has. Look for the Safer Choice Label for an easy way to know that the product meets the EPA standards on toxicity. To learn more, visit www.epa.gov/saferchoice.

The Mackinac Bridge connects our two peninsulas and our Michigan Green Schools from Berrien Springs to Keeweenaw.

Students have fun learning about bees at Go Like the Wind Montessori School in Ann Arbor.

An Allegan High School student tests water quality in a local river that feeds into Lake Michigan. Great Lakes protection is a top goal of Michigan Green Schools.

A poster from Steele Elementary in Mason encouraging water conservation

3rd grader from Pentwater schools poses beside a Honey Locust Tree cutting on a field trip to the Halcyon Nature Center in Pentwater.

Preparing an area for a butterfly garden in Ann Arbor. Planting dill will bring in Yellow Swallow Tail butterflies.

Students from St. Clair Middle School are featured with artwork created from recycled bottles.

The Great Lakes are a Michigan treasure. You can help keep them safe and clean by responsibly discarding all old prescriptions and pills.

Rapid City Elementary, Kalkaska Public Schools, show off their Michigan Green School reusable water bottles.

This is the 2019-20 Michigan Green School emblem. We chose the Karner Blue butterfly because it only lives in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario with a few small exceptions. It is highly endangered. This new emblem attaches to the official green flag awarded to schools that earn the Michigan Green School designation. There are emerald and evergreen versions as well.

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Updated July 11, 2019