THE ECO HAS LANDED
ENVIRO-CONSCIOUS CRUSADER FRANCESCA OLIVIERI, CO-OWNER OF SAGE BABY IN NYC,
TELLS YOU HOW TO GET MORE GREEN INTO YOUR LIFE, NOW AND FOREVER
GOING GREEN AT SCHOOL
Maybe I am a tad controlling, but knowing what my kids are eating at school and what cleaning
products are being sprayed around them is important to me. It is one thing to go green in your
home. If I want to change to CFL light bulbs or unplug the toaster, I can. No headmaster or plant
manager has to approve my decisions. But tackling going green at your child’s school is a whole
other story. Too many “helpful” suggestions from parents can be overwhelming to a school.
As I thought about approaching my son’s school to get some answers on their plans to go green, I flip-flopped internally while trying to perfect how to come off as a non-intrusive parent. But I still wanted to know about the school’s plans for recycling and pest management and cleaning products. I wanted to know how they were tackling reducing their carbon footprint and also how these concepts were being woven into the curriculum. Before I was even able to unveil my perfected mellow-mama-with-a-green-agenda persona, my son’s kindergarten teacher single-handedly started the green movement. And in retrospect, at our school, having it come from a teacher was much more effective than if it had come from a parent.
When I asked my son’s teacher about her motivation to act, her answer was simple: the kids. She said it was a bit embarrassing when her students kept asking her where the recycling box was. There wasn’t one in the classroom—or anywhere in the school—and she knew that it was time to make some changes. And with some simple suggestions, changes began to be made. There are recycling boxes in all the classrooms. The food is sourced from local farms, and energy is being conserved throughout the buildings.
Similarly, I was at a Green Schools Alliance meeting recently (an organization focused on galvanizing schools’ concerns about climate change and the environment into collective action to protect our shared future; read more at
www.greenschoolsalliance.org) and was listening to a plant manger from a K–12 school talking about how his school had started reducing its carbon footprint. He had been motivated by a group of high school students. The students would come into his office wanting to talk about how the school might go green. It dawned on him during one of these conversations: This is a school, and the purpose of a school is to teach children. He realized that even though he wasn’t a teacher, he still had an incredible opportunity to teach these students. He had the15-year-olds researching how much energy and money could be saved if they replaced all the light bulbs in the building with CFL bulbs. He had them making spreadsheets and calling the suppliers, and some even worked over the summer changing hundreds of bulbs. The students were empowered, had an incredible learning experience and were instrumental in dramatically changing the policy of their school.
The good news is that the green movement is catching on. Whether the changes start from a parent, a teacher, a plant manager, the administration or a student, it doesn’t really matter. And keep in mind, small steps and small changes add up. So muster up your courage, ask some questions, plan the best approach (even if that means cheering on a teacher) and begin greening your child’s school.
Here are some resources to get you started:
In 2006, Francesca Olivieri co-founded the company sage baby (www.sagebabynyc.com), an online eco-friendly baby store offering everything from organic clothes and skincare to furniture. She continues to watch her green business grow while seeking to apply her values to her own home and family. Francesca lives in New York City with her husband and three kids, 8, 6 and 3.
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