SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS: Johnson Park Elementary, Riverside Elementary, and Princeton High School (PHS) each received a $2,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey for Schools funded by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA).  From left are Sustainable Jersey Board Trustee Gary Sondermeyer, NJEA’s Mike Rollins, PHS Assistant Principal Nicole Mantuano Lacsamana, PHS PTO’s Theresa Vaccarro, PHS science teacher James Smirk, and Sustainable Jersey’s Randy Solomon.

By Donald Gilpin

Johnson Park Elementary, Riverside Elementary, and Princeton High School (PHS) have each received a $2,000 Sustainable Jersey for Schools grant funded by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA).

“Sustainability is an integral part of our work at Princeton Public Schools (PPS),” said PPS Superintendent Carol Kelley. “Congratulations to each of these schools and their Green Teams!”

The grant to Johnson Park will be supporting the school’s transition away from disposable plates and cups for classroom parties and parent functions. “This grant will allow Johnson Park to build a supply of reusable service ware and test out a flatware retriever in the cafeteria,” said Johnson Park Principal Angela Siso Stentz. “I am incredibly proud of the Johnson Park Green Team and all of its efforts to make our school more sustainable.”

Riverside will be using the funds to build a new greenhouse made from recycled plexiglass to grow microgreens. Riverside

Interim Principal Nancy Whalen applauded “the innovation, teamwork, and creativity in designing a new greenhouse” and the grant award “that benefits our students and helps their amazing garden expand.”

She added, “By thinking creatively about sustainability, our garden educators and elementary school students will get a new learning space.”

The grant money at PHS will pay for educational signage at the new basin beside the tennis courts. To help improve the basin’s stormwater capacity, it is currently undergoing naturalization with native plants. “It is nice to be recognized for the hard work and dedication of the students, faculty, staff, parents, and community members on the PHS Green Team,” said PHS Assistant Principal Nicole Mantuano Lacsamana.

In a presentation at the NJEA and Sustainable Jersey for Schools awards event held at The College of New Jersey on March 29, PPS Supervisor of Preschool and Special Projects Valerie Ulrich was asked to speak as a representative of an “exemplary district.”  She summarized PPS’s student-driven sustainability campaigns, following Princeton’s guiding principles: “to connect children to nature in meaningful ways; to put children in leadership positions; and to build opportunities for children to answer for themselves: ‘What do you stand for?’”

Projects she highlighted included Support the Sort, a recycling and composting program with student green teams creating posters and videos designed to train students and staff to recycle and sort compostable waste at school;  developing gardens with raised beds; use of the new “outdoor classrooms”; and connecting sustainability and scientific research.

Her presentation showed photos of many of these projects that have been encouraged by Sustainable Jersey.

NJEA President Sean Spiller highlighted NJEA’s collaboration with Sustainable Jersey.  “Our job is to help and support this new generation as they continue to become engaged citizens and leaders,” he said. “By emphasizing the value of sustainability and healthy practices, which often go hand-in-hand with economic efficiencies, we help ensure that we leave a better world for our children’s children.”

Sustainable Jersey Executive Director Randall Solomon added, “We applaud the schools and districts ready to implement these innovative sustainability projects and thank NJEA for providing the crucial financial support that will allow these visionary ideas to come to life.”