Upcoming+Opportunities

=Ways to Sustainably Engage = In the Sustainable Schools Initiative, **//__awareness__//** is our number one focus area. By actively engaging in outside program, grants, and opportunities, students, teachers, and schools will create a vast network of resources to better enable them to "__ **go green** __." Let us help you help planet Earth and your surrounding community.

__ Earth Day Festival Class Projects__
Bronwyn Santos from Charleston County Environmental Management is looking for any ecology club, green team, recycle team, or any environmentally motivated school group to participate in Charleston County's ** annual Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 19th **. Space is available for several school groups to help in an oyster habitat restoration project. For this community project, students will help fill bags with oyster shells that will be placed along marsh banks to help rebuild oyster habitats. Participation in this event is a great way for students to get involved in a local Earth saving mission.

Requests to participate should be sent to Bronwyn Santos at bsantos@charlestoncounty.org.

__The__ ** deadline ** __to sign-up is **TBD!**__

__SC Walk to School Day in March __
Join Safe Routes to School on March 7th for the inaugural SC Walk to School Day! SC Walk to School Day can help initiative conversations with your students about how walking and biking can: Remember, Walk to School events come in many shapes and sizes. Your school may plan an event in which students walk TO school; walk TO school FROM a meeting location; walk AT school; or walk FROM school!
 * Enhance your health by increasing your amount of physical activity
 * Improve air quality by reducing automobile emissions in your school zone
 * Make the streets safer by relieving traffic congestion

Visit SC Walk to School to register your school today!

__CCEM Recycling Campaign and Media Contest __
This year....

Deadline for submissions: **__TBD__**

For questions, concerns, or additional information, please contact Bronwyn Santos at 843-720-7112 or Maggie Dangerfield at 843-566-1962. We look forward to seeing your school’s submission!

__Dream Machine Recycle Rally__
The Dream Machine Recycle Rally is a multiyear, nationwide school recycling program designed to raise awareness among students, grades K-12, about the importance of recycling and encourage them to make recycling part of their everyday lives.

Students are encouraged to collect non-alcoholic beverage containers (plastic bottles and aluminum cans), and bring them in to school to earn rewards. **For every non-alcoholic plastic bottle or aluminum can scanned and recycled, your school will earn one point. When your school accumulates 100 points, you can begin redeeming your points with local businesses and major retailers for rewards– the more your school recycles the more rewards your school can earn!**


 * School Year Contest** : September 3, 2013– April 29, 2014

//For registration and more information visit//: Dream Machine Recycle Rally

__ TerraCycle __
**GET PAID for your RECYCLING!** // Current schools participating: Moultrie Middle, Pepperhill Elementary, Sullivan's Island Elementary // TerraCycle's goal is to help eliminate the idea of waste. Terracycle does this by creating collection and solution programs for all kinds of typically non-recyclable waste. In essence turning the non-recyclable recyclable. This is accomplished by creating waste collection programs, “brigades,” and turning the collected waste into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks. To start collecting please [|sign up and join a brigade]. There are brigades for many different waste streams ranging from candy wrappers to pens. While some brigades have a cost many are free, where we pay the shipping and for every unit of waste you send to us and at least $0.02 to a charity or school of your choice.

__**Brigades **__

 * Laptops
 * Digital Cameras; MP3 Players
 * Graphing Calculators
 * GPSes
 * Cell Phones
 * Ink Cartridges; Toner Cartridges
 * Yogurt Containers
 * Bear Naked products
 * Tortillas or Tostados Bags
 * Candy Wrappers; Cereal Bags; Cheese Packaging; Chip Bags; Coffee Bags; Colgate Oral Care; Cookie Packaging; Drink Pouches; Dropps Laundry Detergent Pouches; Elmer's Glue Bottles; Energy Bar Wrappers; GoGo squeeZes; Gum Packaging; Home Storage (Ziplocs) products; Kashi Packages; Keyboards and Mouses; Lunch Kits; Method Brand Refills ; Scotch Tape; Scotch Brand; Solo Cups; Writing Instruments- pens, Sharpies, highlighters

If you have already signed up, or are interested in signing up, you can download the free [|Collection Kit]to get started. Please visit http://www.terracycle.net/en-US/about-us.html for more information.

__ America Recycles Day __
Help celebrate Mother Earth and the conservation of her resources on **__Friday, November 15th__** for American Recycles Day! Take a moment to sign the America Recycles Day 2013 Pledge and honor your commitment to a more sustainable future! For more information and way to celebrate, look at the America Recycles Day Toolkits!

__ City of Charleston Green Business Challenge __
The Green Business Challenge (GBC) is a voluntary Charleston metro area program aimed at a broad range of local businesses and institutions to promote environmental sustainability while enhancing profitability. Your organization or business can make improvements in key areas, including:
 * Energy use reduction
 * Waste reduction
 * Water use reduction
 * Community collaboration

By participating in the GBC, businesses and organizations receive local recognition, achieve real savings through sustainable efforts such as energy and water efficiencies, and gain a triple bottom-line which takes into account people, the planet, and profits.
 * What it means for businesses…**

The 2013-2014 GBC is a 12-month voluntary program beginning in March 2013. Our official GBC “Scorecard” will help you tabulate your baseline score and track points earned over the challenge year. Points are awarded for sustainable business initiatives and innovative green practices. The scorecard outlines initiatives and provides resources and information to help you achieve you goals. Local expertise and free training sessions are also available to assist participants.Outstanding achievements are awarded and participants recognized throughout the year.
 * What it is?**


 * What do I do?**
 * 1) Register for participation
 * 2) Download Scorecard
 * 3) Set Your Baseline
 * 4) Set your “target score”
 * 5) Implement Green Strategies
 * 6) Be Recognized
 * 7) Complete the Challenge

**REGISTER NOW!** Scorecards Dues: ** __DECEMBER 6, 2013__ **

__South Carolina Green Steps Schools__
//Become an SC Green Steps School!// It's a fun and easy way to engage your school in sustainable actions! Green Steps Schools is an environmental education and action initiative that recognizes schools in South Carolina who take annual sustainable steps toward becoming more environmentally responsible.

__How to Become a Green Steps Schools:__ > || Conserve: || Protect: || Restore: || > || Energy || Air || Habitat || > || Reduce || Water || Soil || > || Reuse || Litter Prevention || || > || Recycle || || || > || Green Purchasing || || ||
 * **Visit** our website at: [|www.GreenStepSchools.com].
 * ** Form ** a staff "Green Team."
 * **Attend** a SC Green Steps Training- [[file:Charleston County_Dec1_Green Steps Training.pdf]].
 * **Outline** a vision for at least four projects your team would like to establish over time.
 * **Decide** on one or more projects that could serve as a model to other schools in your county.
 * **Submit** an on-line [|project worksheet] with detailed plans for each project underway at your school. Click our project list for ideas under these topics:
 * **Request** a mentor for your first project or suggest someone you know.
 * **Invite** your mentor to meet with your team in the fall.
 * **Resubmit**your project worksheet after working with your mentor with the goal of making your project a model for other schools in your school district. Green Steps Projects should be:
 * Significant - provides environmental and educational impact on the students and community
 * Well established - successful for at least 12 months
 * Sustainable - managed by a team of at least 3 staff members
 * Accessible - post an up-to-date detailed report of all your projects on your school’s website and send us the SPECIFIC link. You may request a GS logo imbedded with your school name.
 * **Resubmit by May 1st** each project sheet submitted in the fall with a year-end report paragraph at the bottom and your updated web-link that we can access with one-click.
 * **Invite** your mentor to meet with your team early in May to critique your project(s).
 * **Remind** your mentor to submit a Year End Mentor Report by May 31st. Due date FIRM!
 * **Send** representative(s) to the annual SC Green Step Schools Award Ceremony at the June "Take Action" Workshop in Columbia. Plaques are given with stickers to honor each sustaining project. Schools must establish two projects before earning an official plaque.

Previous Opportunities:
 Recycle Bowl’s mission is to Invigorate student participation through a national K-12 recycling competition. The competition’s objectives are to establish new recycling programs within schools; increase recycling rates in schools that currently recycle; and provide teacher/student educational opportunities about recycling and waste reduction. Awards in the Recycle-Bowl Competition Division: State Champions: A winner from each U.S. state and the District of Columbia will receive $1,000 based on the most recycled material per person per school. The National Title: America’s Top Recycling School! A grand prize of an additional $2,500 will go to the top performer among the State Champions! Drop-off Category :offers a $1,000 first prize, a $750 second prize and $500 third prize. Schools will track the amount of material recovered per person and will compete with other schools on a national level. For registration and more information visit: [|Recycle-Bowl.org]
 * __Recycle Bowl K-12__**

Deadline to Enter: __Monday, October 10, 2011.__

CCSD Wellness Fair "Going Green" Challenge The CCSD Wellness Committee believes that a healthy environment and a healthy body go hand in hand. One of the themes for this year’s CCSD Wellness Fair is “going green.”

We are challenging all CCSD schools to compete for the “Going Green Schools of the Year” award. The top two winners from each of the four learning communities (Elementary, Secondary, Innovation Zone and Early Childhood) will be announced by Thursday October 20th, with the first place and finalist awards presented during our Wellness Fair at Moultrie Middle School from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 21st. Here’s how to submit your entry: 1. Provide the email and phone number of the staff member that is the point of contact for your school or program. 2. List three green initiatives that your school or program are participating in. 3. Send in one photo of a going green event/initiative/program that your school or program is participating in. It helps if the photo is related to one of the three green initiatives listed above. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.6667px;">4. Send in one photo of your school’s bulletin board or other type of informational resource where the “going green” initiative is advertised in your school. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.6667px;">5. Email your application to Robert_Wolfe@charleston.k12.sc.us.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.6667px;">Deadline to Submit Entries: __Thursday, October 13, 2011.__

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3333px;">Have you ever thought, “Recycling doesn’t make a difference?” We hate to be blunt, but you are wrong. It benefits our economy, creates jobs, saves energy and protects natural resources. So help us show that “recycling is no joke” by participating in the first-ever America Recycles Day (ARD) video contest, open to contestants of all ages. You’ll be __eligible to win $1,000__ if you make the judges (and the public) laugh. Submissions can be anything ranging from a one-liner, to a comic strip or skit about recycling, but the __video must show recycling in a positive, humorous manner__. The video needs to be uploaded to [|the ARD YouTube page]__by October. 21, 2011__, as a response to a short video that explains the competition. The ARD Video Committee will vote on the top 10 winners and upload them to a YouTube playlist on our ARD page by November. 8, 2011. During the following week, the public will pick the winning videos by clicking the “like” button associated with their favorite video. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3333px;"> Voting ends on America Recycles Day: November 15,2011. For more information and contest rules, visit:[|americarecyclesday.org/video-contest]
 * __America Recycles Video Competition__**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10.6667px;">Celebrate recycling and reuse by entering Charleston County’s 14th Annual Creative Recycling Art Contest. Criteria for Entry: At least 70% of your creation must be made of recycled or found materials. Recycled materials are defined as materials that have been discarded. Art supplies such as glue, paint, markers, nails and staples are allowed. Art entries can be any medium or form. Entries must not exceed 24” x 24” x 24”. Only one entry per person. __Students must be grade 7-12__. Adults must be 18 or older. Prizes: 1st Place Adult: $300 in Art Supply & Hardware Store Certificates; 1st Place Student: $300 Savings Bond. *Winner’s art will be displayed until 11/30/11. Deadline for Entries: __Friday, November 4th at 5:00 pm__ to 13 Romney Street, Charleston, SC 29403. All Entrants: Awards Reception is on November 15th at 6:00 pm at the Charleston County Library. For more an application or more information, please contact Bronwyn Santos at 843-720-7112 or Maggie Harrelson at 843-937-6395
 * __Charleston County Environmental Management Recycled Art Contest__**