May 26, 2022 – Miami, FL – This past Thursday, Dream in Green invited schools, teachers, administrators, students, sponsors and guests to join us for a very special evening celebrating DIG. We all gathered at Miami Dade College Koubek Memorial Center to recognize participants of this year’s Green Schools Challenge as well as revel in 15 years of Dream in Green and its programming.

Our vision is for a cleaner, greener world today and in our future and we are proud of our impacts since our inception. The lessons provided through the GSC program have led to the offset of over 60 million pounds of CO2 emissions and have saved the school district almost 4 million dollars in energy costs. Our WE-LAB program has hosted over 120 workshops in our communities, reaching 3,000 households with critical water and energy conservation information and resources.

Over the years Dream in Green has been honored to partner, connect and work with outstanding organizations and municipalities both at the local, national and even international level. DIG continues to be an official partner of Miami-Dade County Public School District, a relationship that has allowed the Green Schools Challenge to grow from its original 3 school pilot program to now serving over 110 schools annually. Other partnerships we are proud to continue include those with the Ocean Conservancy, Miami-Dade County, and Live Arts Miami.

To kick off the evening, we invited Dream in Green’s first Executive Director, Jane Gilbert, to address our audience. Currently Jane holds the position as Miami-Dade County’s first Chief Heat Officer but has also served as the City of Miami’s Chief Resilience Officer. She spoke about the important work Dream in Green is and has been doing, emphasizing the critical necessity of reaching K-12 students not only about the threats to our environment but of their role as environmental stewards to create a better future for our planet.

DIG staff and Board of Director members spent the evening highlighting all of the amazing teachers, students, administrators and schools that participated in the Green Schools Challenge. Throughout the evening, we celebrated the achievements of both individuals and whole schools in creating a “greener” school community. Our winners went above and beyond what was expected and inspired others to be environmental stewards. Below are our top winners at all three levels of our program (elementary, middle and high):

Elementary Schools        Middle Schools                 High Schools

1st            Whispering Pines ES        Rockway MS                       Miami Sunset SHS

2nd           The Growing Place           Richmond Heights MS    Dorothy M. Wallace C.O.P.E. Center

3rd           Oliver Hoover ES               Aventura Waterways K-8 Robert Morgan Educational Center

4th           Air Base K-8 Center         Palmetto MS                      G. Holmes Braddock SHS

5th           Claude Pepper ES             Hammocks MS                  Saint Brendan High School

6th           Dante B. Fascell ES           GW Carver MS                   Terra Environmental Research Institute

7th           Pinecrest ES                        Fienberg Fisher K-8          Coral Reef SHS

8th           Dr. E.L. Whigham ES        Riviera MS                           Miami Palmetto SHS

Dream in Green would like to thank all of our donors and sponsors that allow us to offer our programs to pre K-12 schools of South Florida for this year and for the past 15 years. For photos of the event, click here.

Thank you to our event sponsors: K.G. International, LM Genuine Solutions, Peck Yachts, and Resilient Grids, LLC Consulting.

To help support Dream in Green and our efforts in South Florida please contact Barbara Martinez- Guerrero, Dream in Green’s Executive Director at ba*****@dr**********.org or visit our website.