On May 22, Dream in Green honored the winners of the 2013-2014 Green Schools Challenge (GSC) and Water and Energy Learning and Behavior (WE-LAB) programs. During the 8th Annual End-of-Year Awards Ceremony 78 winning green schools were recognized for taking action, making an impact and living more sustainably.
JustGreen, an energy solution initiative working towards a cleaner planet, presented the first place GSC winner, Robert Russa Moton Elementary with a donation of carbon credits. This offset will help balance the school’s carbon footprint and make it the first carbon neutral school in the Miami-Dade County Public School System.
“We were not expecting to win anything this year. We worked extremely hard on all of our challenges and this validated all of our efforts,” said Yamile Vazquez, Theatre Arts Specialist at Robert Russa Moton Elementary. “I know we tried really hard with so many things we did, but I am amazed and astonished to see that we surpassed so many other amazing and excellent schools in our region.”
The law offices of Stearns Weaver Miller, a longtime supporter of Dream in Green, hosted the awards ceremony for the eighth year in a row and helped to celebrate the students, teachers and staff for their successful green-school initiatives. Also in attendance were representatives from Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Waste Management, Miami-Dade County, The Palms Hotel & Spa, Covanta Energy, Florida City Gas, Wilson Elser Law Firm, Car2Go, and Artsy Productions USA
The Green Schools Challenge is a 10-month STEM-based curriculum that promotes environmentally sustainable behaviors, including energy and water conservation, waste reduction and recycling. WE-LAB for schools is the ‘graduate’ program for schools that have been participating in the Green Schools Challenge for more than three years. The program was designed to teach students, staff, and parents about the nexus between energy and water to motivate community wide energy-water saving behaviors.
