Southside Occupational Academy: Southside Monarch Butterfly Conservation Program

Students: 48 Staff: 8 Mentor: Kristen Dimas Project type: Habitat Restoration Location: Chicago, IL Grade levels: all students Southside Occupational Academy’s project won the Judges’ Choice award for the 21-22 cohort of the Illinois Green Schools Project. Southside Occupational Academy is a CPS transition school serving young adults with intellectual & physical disabilities, ages 18-22,…

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Murphysboro Middle School: Putting Waste in its Place

Students: 12 Staff: 2 Mentor: Aur Beck Location: Murphysboro, IL With a focus on energy conservation, the goal of the Murphysboro student-led Eco Action team is to educate students and staff about plastic pollution, waste reduction, energy conservation, and recycling while taking action to make change. Their project consists of improving the in-school recycling program,…

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Lockport Township High School: Learning and Living out ESG

recycling symbol

Students: 30 Staff: 4 Mentor: Eileen Whitemiller Project type: Waste reduction Location: Lockport, IL Grade levels: 9-12 Starting in the cafeteria, the school has created a share-table where uneaten food can be donated for those in need, reducing the amount of food waste generated and associated GHG emissions. Speaking of food waste, the school has…

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Libertyville High School: Whole-School Sustainability in Action

Students look at solar panel

Students: 102 Staff: 11 Mentors: Venkat Kumar & Heather Juhl Project type: Energy & Justice at School Location: Libertyville, IL Grade levels: 9-12 Libertyville High School won the Theme of the Year award for the 21-22 cohort of the Illinois Green Schools Project. Libertyville High School has engaged its students in environmental conservation & sustainability…

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Carruthers Elementary: A Year of Conservation and Creativity

Students: 475 Staff: 6 Project type: Energy Conservation Location: Murphysboro, IL Grade levels: 3-5 Carruthers Elementary School won the Creative Use of Resources award for the 21-22 cohort of the Illinois Green Schools Project. Carruthers focused on energy conservation, recycling, and being environmental stewards for bees and monarch butterflies. All of their students worked on the…

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Pleasantdale Elementary School: Color the World with Butterflies

By Clare Zhang First thing every morning, the kindergarteners in Kara Mulder’s class run to check on the growth of their plants. They add food waste to the classroom compost buckets, then take them outside as a class to add to the bin in the school’s butterfly garden. This new routine is a result of…

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Lincoln Middle School: Lincoln Goes Green

By Clare Zhang Coming back to Lincoln Middle School in person after a year of the pandemic, sixth grade teacher Melissa Johnson saw this “refresh” as an opportunity to get students thinking about and working towards sustainability goals at school. “Adults have the best intentions, but when you’re working in schools, it should come from…

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Skinner North Classical School: Taking Charge of Energy Use

By Clare Zhang When Zach Schroeder was teaching the civics curriculum to his seventh and eighth grade students at Skinner North Classical School in Chicago, the discussions kept coming back to environmental issues.  “They didn’t just want to go through the motions and do a school project — it was real for them,” Schroeder said.…

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Mother McAuley High School: Promoting Sustainable School-Wide Changes

Students: 20 Staff: 1 Project type: Waste Reduction Location: Chicago Grade levels: High School The Mother McAuley environmental science club EcoMacs worked towards three major goals: first, replacing or eliminating the materials used by the school cafeteria and student lounge cafe in favor of more reusable or sustainable alternatives. Second, they created a “Green Corner”…

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Lincoln Elementary School: Native Garden Classroom

Students: 41Staff: 1Mentor: Justin RiosProject type: Outdoor Learning SpaceLocation: River ForestGrade levels: Elementary School Students and staff at Lincoln Elementary wanted to transform their existing, but underused native garden into an inviting and educational communal space for all Lincoln students and community members. The renovation added seating, a teaching wall and plant signage to best…

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